Press release from Scholastic re: Pottergate (NO SPOILERS, of course)

NEW YORK, July 18 -- 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.


Rebecca's commentary:
Hide it until midnight on July 21st. HA!