The first Harry Potter book was published in 1997.
J. K. Rowling’s debut novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury on 26 June 1997. It introduced Harry, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Hogwarts, and the wider wizarding world.
Readers sometimes answer 1998 because that was the year the book first appeared in the United States. Scholastic published the American edition on 1 September 1998 under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The title was changed because the publisher thought American children might find “philosopher” unfamiliar or unappealing.
The book began with a relatively small first print run and grew into a worldwide publishing phenomenon. Six sequels followed, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows completing the main seven-book series in 2007.