Still lost in Nigeria
I just got my confirmation email from Amazon to say that my order is being packedbut it has added the P&P on to it. I ordered it back in Feb and I'm sure they offered free P&P to UK addresses if you pre-ordered before a July. Did I just dream that or am I being conned?
Still lost in Nigeria
With extreme caution for lack of authenticity, we bring you this article from The Guardian's online website. It holds, what they say, is the opening to Deathly Hallows dated October 23rd, 2006.
According to their site, this small portion can be seen in video from the upcoming JK Rowling documentary we told you about a few days ago.
We've posted it in the black area below in case it is removed from The Guardian's website. Highlight in between the arrows if you wish to read.
Spoiler:
Please remember that it is still unknown as to whether or not this is real. Interesting, nonetheless. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed with the tip!
EDIT FROM MUGGLENET:
Emily's edit: I emailed Andrew saying I didn't think the excerpt was real. Here's why: There is a mixture of British/English grammar - the British spelling of "recognise" and the American use of "a few yards." There are also odd punctuation errors - a colon after "chest" and then ?", when only a question mark before the quotation mark would be used. Would Jo really make these errors? We'll find out soon.
Last edited by Abigail; 17-07-2007 at 22:34.
Senior Member
Bloomsbury, the publishers of Harry Potter, has insisted Adsa will not stock the final installment of the boy wizard's exploits, after the supermarket chain accused it of ripping off children.
The publisher sent Asda a legal warning over a press release it issued last weekend and also pledged it will not supply the supermarket chain with copies of the seventh and final book in the series, to be published on Saturday.
Bloomsbury has cancelled Asda's half-a-million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Bloomsbury said last night that it was cancelling the supermarket’s order for half-a-million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - one of the largest placed with the publisher - because, it claimed, Asda had not paid bills, some going back three years, on other books which it had supplied to the chain.
Asda, which had boasted that it intended to slash the cost of Deathly Hallows to £8.97, infuriated Bloomsbury at the weekend by accusing the publisher of “blatant profiteering” and of “attempting to hold children to ransom” by setting the book’s recommended retail price at £17.99.
Peter Pritchard, Asda’s director of general merchandise, said in a press release on Sunday: “It seems like Bloomsbury need to do a quid-ditch as they have sent their prices up north on the Hogwarts Express. By setting the RRP at this level can only be seen as blatant profiteering on their part.”
The release went on to say that Asda was cutting the cost to “champion the right of young readers” and that £17.99 was “twice the average child’s pocket money and £5 more than the average kids’ hardback bestseller”.
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Bloomsbury retaliated yesterday with a fierce statement of its own and this morning accused the chain of "potentially libellous" action.
The publisher said: “Asda’s latest attempt to draw attention to themselves involves trying to leap on the Harry Potter bandwagon. This is just another example of their repeated efforts at appearing as Robin Hood in the face of controversy about their world wide group which would suggest they are perceived as more akin to the Sheriff of Nottingham.
“Loss-leaders were invented by supermarkets and have nothing to do with Bloomsbury Publishing or Harry Potter and we deeply regret being dragged into their price-wars.”
Last night, Bloomsbury said that it was cancelling all Asda’s orders - including the half-million copies of Deathly Hallows expected to be delivered to its stores in the next few days - until the company honoured an agreement struck between the two companies four weeks ago to pay Bloomsbury money it claims it is owed.
Minna Fry, a Bloomsbury spokeswoman, would not disclose the size of the alleged unpaid bills.
She said: “The two matters are completely unrelated. We decided today that we could not risk having arrears with anybody.”
But she went on: “The point is they (Asda) are happy to go around saying we are ripping children off.”
This morning Ms Fry defended the price of the book, saying at 608 pages long it was not an ordinary childrens' title.
An Asda spokesman said that it owed Bloomsbury £38,000 but claimed that Bloomsbury owed Asda £122,000.
He said: “That money will be in their bank account tomorrow. Customers can rest assured that they will be able to pick up a Potter at an Asda price.
He claimed: “It looks like Bloomsbury is trying to do everything they can to stop kids getting the latest Harry Potter release at a price they can afford.
“The RRP of the first book was £11.99. This one is £17.99. It’s a huge price hike.”
Still lost in Nigeria
If this has been going on for three years why has Bloomsbury not taken legal action before now? Its not as if Asda can't afford to pay them, they are one of the four major chains in the UK (and America).Originally Posted by Luna
Can't see how people are going to get their copies at Asda when the order has been withdrawn. I doubt Bloomsbury will take the risk of supplying 500,000 copies when they have been in this situation before.
Sounds to me like this is just a huge publicity stunt by both parties in the run up to the release.
Still lost in Nigeria
The dispute affected an order of about 500,000 Harry Potter books
Supermarket chain Asda has apologised for criticising the publisher of the new Harry Potter book for a "potty" recommended retail price of £17.99.
It had accused Bloomsbury of "blatant profiteering" in a press release and in an interview with BBC Radio Five Live.
Bloomsbury then cancelled a delivery of 500,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but cited a row about "unsettled bills" as the reason.
However, Asda has now stressed the book will now be on its shelves after all.
It is currently advertising it for less than half of the recommended price - £8.87 - on its website, the same as arch-rival Tesco.
Many other chains are offering similarly large discounts, but independent bookshops have complained that they cannot compete with this pricing policy while still hoping to make profits.
'Long-running' row
Asda had accused Bloomsbury of "attempting to hold children to ransom" by pricing the book at nearly £18.
Before the apology was made, company spokesman Ed Watson told BBC Radio Five Live that he believed it was no coincidence the publisher wanted to stop Asda's order.
"It just seems funny that after we expose the potty Potter price hike, Bloomsbury are trying everything they can to stop kids getting hold of Harry Potter at a price they can afford," he said.
However, Bloomsbury always denied that this statement had been a factor in the row.
Instead, marketing director Minna Fry blamed a dispute about invoices had been "going on a while - going on for weeks, actually".
"We always said we wouldn't provide them with the books until that was sorted out," she added.
On the subject of the book's price, however, Bloomsbury did maintain that "at 608 pages, £17.99 is extremely good value".
Page from Rowling's website
The release date for the book was announced on JK Rowling's website
Now, though, Asda has withdrawn its previous statement and has apologised unreservedly.
"We look forward to a good relationship with Bloomsbury going forward, including selling the latest Harry Potter book from 0001 BST on Saturday, 21 July, and many other Bloomsbury books in the future," said an Asda spokeswoman.
And for Bloomsbury, Ms Fry added: "We are pleased that this situation has been resolved and look forward to working with Asda in the future."
Many bookshops are planning to open at midnight on Friday evening to satisfy demand for the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will bring to an end JK Rowling's tales of a teenage wizard's adventures.
Internet 'leak'
Picture of book pages
The pictures show what appears to be a US edition of the book
With fewer than four days to go, pictures of what appeared to be pages from the new novel have been circulating on the internet.
Minna Fry told the BBC: "There have been so many fake books going up on the internet over the past four to six weeks. We have no reason to believe that these are anything other than fake either."
Meanwhile, the Royal Mail has issued commemorative stamps to celebrate the young wizard's success.
There are seven first-class stamps, each featuring the sleeve artwork from a different Harry Potter book.
And there is also a separate sheet with five stamps featuring the crests of Hogwarts School and its four houses - Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.
The Royal Mail said the stamps have "some heat-resistant ink that will reveal exciting secrets if you touch them".
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Book Seven has a suprise ending
So are the words of US audiobook narrator Jim Dale, in a new interview. A further extract: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/bo...in&oref=slogin
“Deathly Hallows,” which runs to 784 pages in the ink-and-paper version, took about two and a half weeks, working six-and-a-half-hour days, recording about 18 to 20 pages an hour, to finish. As with the other books, Mr. Dale received the manuscript only two or three days before he was scheduled to begin recording.
“That makes it impossible for me to actually read it before recording it,” said Mr. Dale, who does not possess the 13-year-old megafan’s ability to inhale the book in a weekend.
So he read about 100 pages ahead, and noted all the different voices he needed for the first few days of recording. The benefit of reading in chunks, Mr. Dale said, is that: “I don’t ever know how the book is going to end so I can’t unconsciously lead you in the direction that the book is going. I don’t know who the villain is because I am just reading 100 pages at a time.”
************************************************** ****
OOTP cast and other celebs voice theories
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Immelda Staunton, Bonnie Wright, Alan Rickman, and a bunch of other celebrities have spoken out about what they think will happen in Deathly Hallows.
Radcliffe: "One of my theories is stolen from someone else. He thought Snape is going to turn out to be the tragic hero, and I thought that was a really good idea. I think J.K. Rowling would have possibly gone down that route — but possibly he is pure evil, and we'll all just find out."
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/artic...ner=rssMozilla
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Bloomsbury forks out to keep Book 7 safe
A new report analyzes the measures taken by UK Potter publisher Bloomsbury to keep Deathly Hallows unspoiled. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...88,curpg-1.cms
It is from Tuesday, however, when copies begin to be sent out to retailers, that the most crucial part of the security operation will come into effect.
The trucks Bloomsbury will use are fitted with satellite tracking systems costing up to £1,000 pounds, which will reveal whether any of the vehicles deviate from their intended route. The books are on sealed pallets fitted with alarms to prevent tampering.
A spokesman for Bloomsbury said: “we have a litigation specialist poised 24 hours a day, seven days a week to deal with any breaches. It is our intention to enforce the embargo vigorously and seek an immediate injunction if required.” While experts put the cost of all this at £10 million, the lengths to which publishers have gone are not surprising.
Still lost in Nigeria
Scholastic tracks down Deathly Hallows leak
The US book publisher has issued a statement this morning which reveals where a leak of Deathly Hallows occurred:
We are taking immediate legal action against DeepDiscount.com and Levy Home Entertainment. The number of copies shipped is around one one-hundredth of one percent of the total U.S. copies to go on sale at 12:01 am on July 21st.
Read the full press release at the link below!
PRESS RELEASE:
Scholastic has recently learned that some individuals have received copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows through the mail , beginning on Tuesday, July 17th, as a result of a breach of the on-sale agreement by the distributor, Levy Home Entertainment, and shipments made by DeepDiscount.com, a customer of that distributor. We are taking immediate legal action against DeepDiscount.com and Levy Home Entertainment. The number of copies shipped is around one one-hundredth of one percent of the total U.S. copies to go on sale at 12:01 am on July 21st.
We are also making a direct appeal to the Harry Potter fans who bought their books from DeepDiscount.com and may receive copies early requesting that they keep the packages hidden until midnight on July 21st.
Scholastic is especially grateful to the other retailers and distributors for their careful attention to keeping the books secure until the release time and for planning thousands of spectacular midnight parties where fans will celebrate together. And we ask everyone, especially the media, to preserve the fun and excitement for fans everywhere.
The fans themselves have made it abundantly clear that they are looking forward to going to the midnight parties, receiving their very own copy of the book and finally getting to read the book they have so anxiously awaited.
************************************************** ****
JK Rowling: "Help preserve the secrecy"
JK Rowling has made a small update to her official website asking everyone who "calls themselves a Potter fan" to help keep the plot of Deathly Hallows from being spoiled:
We are almost there! As launch night looms, let's all, please, ignore the misinformation popping up on the web and in the press on the plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'd like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day. In a very short time you will know EVERYTHING!
We, of course, support Jo's statement and ask all of our visitors to avoid spreading information about Deathly Hallows in our comments. With the book release being less than three days away, there's no point in spoiling it now.
Instead, talk about the latest episode of SpongeBob or perhaps the upcoming Hairspray film. If you need any other topic ideas, please e-mail i need something better to do than spoil the book for everyone three days prior to the [email protected].
Still lost in Nigeria
NY Times posts early review of DH
After receiving an early copy of Deathly Hallows from an unnamed bookstore, the New York Times has posted a review of the book which also contains a few plot details.
UPDATE: In response, JK Rowling has spoken out about this New York Times review and numerous others:
"I am staggered that American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children, who wanted to reach Harry’s final destination by themselves, in their own time. I am incredibly grateful to all those newspapers, booksellers and others who have chosen not to attempt to spoil Harry’s last adventure for fans."
Bloomsbury has also addressed this concern:
The release date and time embargo of 00.01AM BST on Saturday July 21st is being enforced unflinchingly and without exception by the publishers. We confirm that all Bloomsbury’s customers in 93 countries worldwide are robustly supporting this embargo time to ensure secrecy for the children and adult readers of Harry Potter.
Read the entire press release:
PRESS RELEASE:
Bloomsbury Publishing, originating publisher of Harry Potter, was extremely dismayed to learn last night about early sales in America of a small number of copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows prior to the UK, US and worldwide embargo time agreed with retailers, suppliers, and all third parties involved of 00.01AM British Summer Time on Saturday July 21st 2007.
We are aware of some speculation in the media that internet “spoilers” purporting to be extracts from the book have come from the few early copies sold. We confirm that this is not true as is clear from the press release of July 18th issued by Scholastic Inc, the US publisher of Harry Potter. The “spoilers” remain unauthenticated.
The release date and time embargo of 00.01AM BST on Saturday July 21st is being enforced unflinchingly and without exception by the publishers. We confirm that all Bloomsbury’s customers in 93 countries worldwide are robustly supporting this embargo time to ensure secrecy for the children and adult readers of Harry Potter.
We would like to thank our customers and suppliers again for their full support given in so many different ways. We would also like to thank the worldwide media for their own observance of, and strict policing of, the embargo to preserve the secrecy of the plot for the readers of Harry Potter.
JK Rowling said at 1pm today, ‘I am staggered that American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children, who wanted to reach Harry’s final destination by themselves, in their own time. I am incredibly grateful to all those newspapers, booksellers and others who have chosen not to attempt to spoil Harry’s last adventure for fans.’
Senior Member
PLEASE DO NOT POST SPOILERS IN THIS THREAD USE -http://www.soapboards.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=68058
Biggest Reality Fan 2012
Does no-one know of anyone standing outside a waterstone or in Asda waiting for midnight so they can buy a copy.
Thanks to Vicky for my great new banner xxx
"Maddest Member againHow come I've been taking my meds"
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