Bloomsbury released the first Harry Potter novel in the United Kingdom.
Bloomsbury Publishing issued Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on 26 June 1997. The book was Rowling’s first published novel and became the beginning of one of the most commercially successful publishing series in history.
The manuscript had been rejected by several publishers before Bloomsbury acquired it. Barry Cunningham, then an editor at Bloomsbury, worked on the project and helped bring it to publication. The book’s early success quickly led to the commissioning of additional Harry Potter novels.
Scholastic published the series in the United States, where the first book received the alternate title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This publishing arrangement is why British and American editions can have different wording, spelling, and sometimes different titles even though they tell the same story.