Harry Potter

It¿s been 15 years since the Harry Potter series arrived on the world¿s literary stage.Since then, the stories of the boy wizard has become a money-spinning industry that book lovers are loath to forget.

J. K. Rowling
Harry¿s creator, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, literally dreamed up the character and the basic outline of his story in 1990, while travelling on a delayed train between Manchester and London. Later, in Portugal, Rowling continued writing varied plots around Harry Potter. In 1996, Bloomsbury, the publishers, accepted her first manuscript,  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and released it on 30th June, 1997.

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Each book, while complete in itself is part of an overarching plot. Harry¿s mission is to vanquish evil Lord Voldemort¿s ambition to rule the wizard universe for eternity. Few authors achieve seven bestsellers in a row, but that¿s what Rowling did, with every new book release becoming a hugely anticipated event.

Films
In 1998, Warner Bros. bought the film rights for the first four books, reportedly for about $ 2 million. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and his co-stars, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, acting as Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively, became overnight stars and grew up with their characters through the film series. All eight Harry Potter films struck box-office gold.

The characters
The main trio, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Among

Rowling¿s other memorable characters are Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and Harry¿s wise mentor, Hagrid the giant, the Weasley family and Harry¿s bête-noire, Lord Voldemort. Witches, wizards and a host of goblins, ghosts and magical creatures make for great entertainment.

Awards
The series won four Whitaker Platinum Book Awards (2001) and featured on the best books lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly and American Library Association, only a few of the many honours heaped on it.

Merchandising Harry Potter
The phenomenal success of the Harry Potter books and films have inspired a merchandising bonanza. Collectibles like wands, bobbleheads, costumes, action figures, board games, DVD/Blu-Ray sets and book-based Playstation games are hot sellers.

There will be no more Harry Potter books, but the world is unlikely to soon forget the courageous boy wizard whose adventures inspired reluctant child readers and seduced many adult ones.