The world of e-books has been stirred up by J K Rowling’s latest venture – online portal and shop Pottermore.com – which goes live in October. Book retailers have reportedly hit out at J K Rowling’s decision to sell the Harry Potter e-books directly through the site. According to The Bookseller, Pottermore has responded to retailers’ frustrations over being unable to sell the Harry Potter e-books, saying the idea was to “ensure ease of availability across all reading devices”.
A Pottermore spokespman said: “Pottermore is designed to encourage the reading and re-reading of the Harry Potter books in all formats and editions, both print and digital, to both existing and new generations of readers. We think this will have a positive effect on those selling physical books as well as on sales of digital ones.”
Waterstone’s was one of the retailers to criticise the Pottermore plans. A spokesman said last week: “We’re disappointed that, having been a key factor in the growth of the Harry Potter phenomenon since the first book was published, the book trade is effectively banned from selling the long-awaited e-book editions of the series.”
