Bloomsbury published J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel in 1997.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released in the United Kingdom on 26 June 1997. It was Rowling’s first published novel and began the sequence that became one of the best-selling book series in publishing history.
The manuscript had been rejected by several publishers before Bloomsbury acquired it. The book won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize in its category and helped establish Rowling as a major children’s author. The American edition followed in 1998, using the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone rather than the British wording.