Thieves have disrupted the magical world of the latest Harry Potter countdown.
Thousands of copies of the new Harry Potter book have been stolen from a warehouse in England, potentially spoiling publishing's most treasured -- and guarded -- secret.
Booksellers, warehouse workers and others across the English-speaking world have been following strict security measures to ensure a smooth release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the latest adventure in the blockbuster series.
Thieves made off with a tractor trailer containing a total of 7,680 copies of the new book, police said on Tuesday. The truck was taken on Sunday from outside a warehouse in Newtown-le-Willows, northern England, where the books awaited distribution for their 12:01am release on Saturday. Authorities have made no arrests and have no suspects.
The truckload of books had an estimated retail value of US$220,000 -- but advance copies would have a much higher street value. The book has a list price in the US of US$29.99.
Bloomsbury, the London-based publisher of J.K. Rowling's beloved fantasy stories about the young wizard and his friends, issued a statement on Tuesday noting that a legal injunction bars publishing any contents or plot summary of the book before it goes on sale and requires the return of any missing books to the publisher.
Stores across the US plan late-night parties on Friday and a countdown is scheduled in New York's Times Square.
Festivities also were planned in England, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Scholastic, Inc, the US publisher of the Potter books, has commissioned a first printing of eight-and-a-half million. Those books are making their way from printing presses to distribution facilities to retailers and private homes.
Security touches every level of the Potter book. Unlike other books, which pass through several hands from early manuscript to production to release, only a few people at the publishing house have even seen the book, said Judy Corman, a spokeswoman for Scholastic. A safe was installed at the office so that samples sent from the printer could be stored securely.
Advanced Marketing Services, a San Diego-based distributor that expects to handle about two million Potter books between Saturday and January 2004, has hired security guards in the US and added guard dogs for a Canadian distributor it partially owns.
Amazon.com employees have begun packaging the Potter book at five regional warehouses with a warning label: "Do not under any circumstances deliver before June 21."
On Monday, news reporters with three separate security badges passed through metal detectors and had their bags searched at Amazon.com's warehouse in Fernley, Nevada, 48km east of Reno.
"I can't let you touch the book," warned Bill Carr, Amazon.com's director of books, music, videos and DVDs. He gestured toward some of the more than 200,000 books -- about 150 tons worth -- that will be shipped to West Coast destinations.
Sunday's theft comes at a time when publishers have been repeatedly frustrated in controlling the release of highly anticipated books.
In the past few months, three books -- Trisha Meili's I Am the Central Park Jogger, Stephen Glass' The Fabulist and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's Living History -- have been obtained by reporters before their publication dates.
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