Bloomsbury released J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book in the United Kingdom.
Bloomsbury published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on 26 June 1997. The company was a relatively small independent publisher compared with the global scale the series would later achieve, but its decision launched one of the most commercially successful book franchises ever published.
The manuscript was acquired after being submitted through an agent, and Bloomsbury’s editor Barry Cunningham worked with Rowling on the book. The publisher initially printed a modest first edition before demand expanded dramatically through word of mouth and awards.
The American edition was published by Scholastic under the altered title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. That international publishing history can cause confusion, but Bloomsbury is the specific British publisher associated with the first book’s original release.