Potter boosts Bloomsbury
PUBLISHER Bloomsbury has once again been boosted by the magic of Harry Potter.
The release of the latest movie version of JK Rowling’s boy-wizard has waved a wand over sales figures for the entire range of children’s novels.
This, coupled with surging ebook sales, led to a “significant improvement” in sales during July and August.
Bloomsbury is also set for a boost when Rowling’s online Harry Potter ebook store, Pottermore, opens in October. While Rowling has always maintained the digital rights to the books, Bloomsbury says it will receive a slice of the revenues.
It has also seen brisk trading off the back of the 2010 Man Booker Prize winner, The Finkler Question, which has shifted 700,000 copies worldwide.
The publisher said last month that the current consumer economy is the worst it has been for decades and remains cautious about trading.
But chief executive Nigel Newton said: “Recent performance has been encouraging in contrast to the soft conditions we reported in our IMS in July… We are confident Bloomsbury is now well structured for the exciting opportunities presented in the dynamic digital market place and in addition has significant strength to drive momentum in academic and professional publishing.”