6.9 million copies of 'Harry Potter' sold

United Press International
Sunday, July 17, 2005 12:00 a.m. | Sunday, July 17, 2005 12:00 a.m.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," J.K. Rowling's sixth Harry Potter book, sold an 6.9 million in its first 24 hours in U.S. bookstores.

"The fact that a brilliantly written book for children just sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours in the U.S. is cause for celebration, not just for Scholastic (the book's publisher) but for book lovers everywhere," Lisa Holton, president, Scholastic Children's Book Publishing, said in a statement.

The book went on sale nationwide at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Scholastic had a first printing of 10.8 million books ready for the release but with retailers reporting fast-paced pre-sales, the publisher rushed a second printing of 2.7 million copies.

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