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Whoops! Harry Potter Ships Early!

Last episode of boy-wizard saga cursed by leaks

By Colleen Barry, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 19, 2007 5:55 AM CDT

(Newser) – Despite a massive security program to guard against leaks, an online retailer prematurely shipped out as many as 1,200 copies of the final Harry Potter book, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dozens of people already claim to have Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, including the New York Times book reviewer, who said she picked it up at a local book store.

One early copy reportedly sold for $250 on eBay. Scholastic has filed suit against the online retailer Discount.com, and author J.K. Rowling has pleaded for reader patience on her website. The book won't be out officially until one minute after midnight Saturday.

An Amazon.com employee stacks boxes containing copies of J.K. Rowling's book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," inside the Amazon.com fulfillment center in Fernley, Nev., Monday, July 16, 2007.... (Associated Press)

This file image originally supplied by Scholastic on March 28, 2007, shows the cover of the U.S. edition of the highly anticipated "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," J.K. Rowling's seventh and final... (Associated Press)

A group of Harry Potter fans from Belgium and the Netherlands queue outside Waterstone's bookshop in central London to be some of the first to get hold of J K Rowling's new book 'Harry Potter and the... (Associated Press)

Boxes of J K Rowling's new book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" are on display at a street book vendor on Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan Wednesday, July 18, 2007 in New York. (AP... (Associated Press)

Pedestrians walk past boxes of J. K. Rowling's new book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" boxes that are on display at a street book vendor on Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan Wednesday,... (Associated Press)

Copies of J.K. Rowling's latest book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," sit stacked on pallets inside the Amazon.com fulfillment center in Fernley, Nev. in this Monday, July 16, 2007 file photo.... (Associated Press)

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Whoops! Harry Potter Ships Early!

Last episode of boy-wizard saga cursed by leaks

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JK Rowling: I Almost Killed Ron

She wanted to kill one of the trio 'out of pure spite'

Cyberscams Surface Over New Potter Site

Security firm warns of bogus membership accounts being sold

Harry Potter's Real Magic Was on Way We Read

More than a popular book, Potter transformed literature, says critic

JK Rowling Banishes Agent in Potter Feud

Agent who discovered author weighs legal action

Rowling Explains 'Pottermore'

And no, it's not a new book

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Last episode of boy-wizard saga cursed by leaks

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Harry Potter • Scholastic Books • JK Rowling

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

JK Rowling: I Almost Killed Ron

She wanted to kill one of the trio 'out of pure spite'

Cyberscams Surface Over New Potter Site

Security firm warns of bogus membership accounts being sold

Harry Potter's Real Magic Was on Way We Read

More than a popular book, Potter transformed literature, says critic

JK Rowling Banishes Agent in Potter Feud

Agent who discovered author weighs legal action

Rowling Explains 'Pottermore'

And no, it's not a new book

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Newser By Users

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