Now that JK Rowling is set to retire, or maybe even kill off, Harry Potter with the release of her final Potter book on July 21, the frantic search for a replacement is on the way in the U.K. And Barry Cunningham, the Bloomsbury editor who likes to take credit for first spotting Harry's sales potential, thinks he's found just the thing.
According to Guardian Unlimited, it's time to prepare yourself for a boy archaeologist who digs a big hole and for what he finds in it.
Cunningham found the first of the books, Tunnels, after its joint authors Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams pooled their resources to self-publish a deluxe edition. The first print run, sold through Gordon's local bookshop in Norfolk, apparently sold out within hours - a sensational success for a self-published book - and word reached Cunningham.
With the backing of Cunningham - a man considered something of a magician himself in the publishing world - the book has gone on to sell pre-publication rights in 15 languages around the world, securing advances totaling more than £500,000. Cunningham is currently in Hollywood, in discussions to sell the film rights.
"I knew from page one that Harry Potter was magic," Cunningham said earlier, "Reading Tunnels gave me the same thrill, discovering a world of imagination just beyond our ordinary lives." He confidently predicted that "millions of children" would soon be feeling much the same way.
Can Cunningham do it again or is he counting too much on his past success and reputation to sell this series? Only time will tell, of course, but I have to doubt that the next Harry Potter can be found so quickly. Success like Rowling's comes along only once every generation or so and the odds are against anyone matching her sales figures anytime soon, if ever again.
Now that JK Rowling is set to retire, or maybe even kill off, Harry Potter with the release of her final Potter book on July 21, the frantic search for a replacement is on the way in the U.K. And Barry Cunningham, the Bloomsbury editor who likes to take credit for first spotting Harry's sales potential, thinks he's found just the thing. According to Guardian Unlimited, it's time to prepare yourself for a boy archaeologist who digs a big hole and for what he finds in it.
Sounds like it could be a fun series, but I think you are right--it is going to be hard to replace Harry anytime soon. I only hope if something bad happens I don't hear about it before reading the book. I still have to read the last book that came out! I'm a little behind...
ReplyDeleteI think you'd better hurry, Danielle. If Rowlings kills off Harry there's no way you're not going to hear about it. At the very least, she's promised to kill off two major characters, hasn't she?
ReplyDeleteI've never read one of the Potter books and even I have heard the rumors. :-)
You know I read about this yesterday and thought the same thing: can the Rowling phenomenon really be repeated so soon? I too have my doubts but then again I never would have guessed that Harry Potter would be so popular.
ReplyDeleteThe whole Potter thing caught me by surprise, never saw it coming. It's hard for me to look back even now and explain to myself why those particular books sold the way that they did and other books of at least equal quality hardly sell at all.
ReplyDeleteIs it all marketing...build a cult and then cash in when the hysteria reaches a tipping point? Are they really that good? I wish I knew the answer because it would make me rich.
I'm with you; I seriously doubt that there will be another Potter success in the short term.
ReplyDeleteHey, you've never read a Potter book? Intentional snub of the masses and hype, or have you just not gotten to it? (Or maybe another reason?)
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you so easily chose Stephen King over Rowling on my blog, without having read one of her books. Not that I'm judging you for it, your assessment of her career seemed pretty accurate to me and I have read some of her books.
Nope, never read her, John, as her whole plot line has so little appeal to me. I did read a couple of chapters of the first book but didn't at all feel like part of her target audience and tossed it aside with no regrets.
ReplyDeleteYeah, what I said over on your blog in the post comparing King to Rowling is based entirely on the question of whose "body of work" is greater. And I think that, without question, Stephen King has accomplished much more than Rowling has...and I sincerely doubt that Rowling will ever catch up. She has yet to prove to me that she is more than the "one hit wonder" that I called her over at your place.
Jill, can you think of another series of books that have had that kind of success in this generation? I think that Rowling has set the bar exceptionally high for authors hoping to be the next big thing.
ReplyDeleteThat kind of success/luck is a rare thing, indeed.
I also have never read a Rowling book, but I doubt the sales phenomenon can be repeated so soon. However if this new author only achieves 5% of Rowling's sales he is going to make a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth, though, Nick? Not too many writers ever earn even 5% of what she's already made with the Potter books.
ReplyDeleteI have to be at work at midnight to sell those books and I'm sooo tempted read the last page and then stand at the door of the store and say, "Harry dies," to each person as they walk out. I'm tempted to do that even if he lives.
ReplyDeleteAnywho, the same guy finding 2 mass-selling series back-to-back is improbable to me. I think the only thing that would catch on that big right now is if Rowling herself started another series. Based on what I read from Harry Potter, it doesn't even have to be good.
Don't do it, Annie, or YOU may be the one who dies that night. I don't want to pick up the newspaper on July 21 only to read about some bookseller who was stomped to death by little Potter fans. :-)
ReplyDelete