J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published in the United Kingdom on 26 June 1997.
Bloomsbury released the book in Britain after acquiring the manuscript, which introduced Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and the wizarding world. The first printing was relatively modest compared with the enormous print runs that followed after the series became a global bestseller.
The title differs between British and American editions. In the United States, the novel was published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone because the American publisher believed “sorcerer” would be more immediately understandable to children. The story and characters remained essentially the same.
The book’s publication began a seven-novel series. Rowling’s second novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, followed in the United Kingdom in 1998, beginning a remarkably rapid sequence of annual releases.