Top > Entertainment > 2007 > January > 2007-01-04

British Royal Mail Braces for Harry Potter Delivery Onslaught

Writing a series as famous as Harry Potter takes incredible talent, hard work and determination. When J.K. Rowling began her first book thirteen years ago, she certainly could not have predicted the success of her manuscript, nor could she have dreamed that her work would be giving the British Royal Mail logistic headaches months before the final book hit the stands.

When the sixth book was released last year, British Royal Mail delivered over 500,000 pre-ordered copies in the United Kingdom. They are now bracing themselves for a bigger onslaught than last year, after Rowling announced that her seventh and final book, ?Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? is due out this year. The plot of the book has not been revealed, although Rowling has said that two characters will die at the end. A film based on the fifth book in the series, ?Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? is due to be released in the summer of 2007.

British Royal Mail is already creating a strategic plan for the delivery of the new book to English fans. Postal employees work around the clock and delivery of Harry Potter books is the busiest time of the year for them, after the Christmas season. The postal service will meet online retailers next month to develop a joint delivery plan before the book is released.