Washington, June 23: He may still have to sweat for his degree in witchcraft and wizardry, but his marketing acumen will have any US business tycoon seethe with envy. Twenty-four hours after a new book about him hit the market, fictional boy magician Harry Potter from Hogwarts School of Magic Tricks sold an estimated five million copies for his US publisher, Scholastic Children's books announced yesterday. With about two-thirds of the novel's initial print-run of 8.5 million copies already snatched up by eager buyers, "Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix" written by a rags-to-riches British author, J K Rowling, and priced at USD 29.99 a copy, broke all publishing records, gushed Barbara Marcus, president of Scholastic.
"It is extraordinary to publish this magical book which is being read by millions of children and adults across the country at this very moment," she said in a statement.

Wizardry aside, Porter has become a golden goose for the New York-based publishing conglomerate that also operates in several other countries.
The first book in the series, "Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone" published by Scholastic in 1997, became an instant bestseller as did its four sequels, "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets," "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban," "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" and now "Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix." There are currently over 80 million copies of the first four Harry Potter books printed in the US, according to the company.
Bureau Report