JK Rowling's First 'Harry Potter' Book Turns 25 In The UK
June 26, 2022, marks the 25th year anniversary of the first J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter's Book entitled "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" from the time it was published in the United Kingdom on June 26, 1997 by Bloomsbury.
It was published in the United States the year after by Scholastic Corporation under the title "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". It won most of the British book awards that were judged by children and other awards in the US. The book reached the top of the New York Times list of best-selling fiction in August 1999 and stayed near the top of that list for much of 1999 and 2000.
It has been translated into at least 73 other languages and has been made into a feature-length film of the same name, as have all six of its sequels. The novel has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it the third best-selling novel of all time.
Why the title has been changed from "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"?
Arthur Levine, the man behind Scholastic's Harry Potter publication, had reservations about the book's title, more specifically with the word "philosopher." He was worried that the word was too old-fashioned for young readers. "Philosopher" was not a commonly used term and it was believed that the book would be overlooked if not for a title change. Scholastic suggested "Harry Potter and the School of Magic" as the new title but Rowling later picked Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The word "sorcerer" had a clear connotation to magic, something that wouldn't confuse readers.
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