Although ravenous Harry Potter fans were able to purchase e-book versions of their favorite literary series courtesy of author J.K. Rowling’s official site Pottermore, the novels have been absent from the Amazon and Kindle stores. Apparently, that’s all about to change.
Information regarding the release of the Potter series on Kindle is currently very limited, though a pair of images on Amazon.com are clearly indicating to readers that “Wizardry is on the Way”. This is good news for Kindle users who can’t be bothered to cart those hefty books around while they’re traveling.
Given the popularity of the e-book reader, I’m a little surprised that it’s taken this long for the series to make an appearance on the device. I suppose Rowling and company decided they could make a pretty penny selling the tomes directly to fans. It’s reported that the electronic versions of Potter’s magical adventures have sold an estimated $1.6 million through the Pottermore website. Since there’s very little overhead and the titles are essentially being sold directly to fans without the hassle of a middleman, that’s pretty much pure profit.
Amazon doesn’t have much to say on the subject at the moment. “We’ll have to ask you to stay tuned for an upcoming announcement,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
However, according to the folks at Galley Cat, the series will soon be available via the Kindle Lending Library, a service that’s currently available only to those who subscribe to Amazon Prime. Members can start borrowing their little heart out on June 19th. No word yet if fans can actually purchase a copy to own.
If reading books on handheld devices ever catches on in my world, there’s a very strong possibility that I’ll collect these electronic incarnations despite owning physical copies of each novel. That’s just the type of sad little Potter fan I am.
