Bloomsbury released J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book in Britain.
Bloomsbury published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the United Kingdom on 26 June 1997. The publisher was taking a chance on an unknown author and a children’s fantasy novel that had already attracted attention from literary agent Christopher Little.
The book’s initial print run was small by the standards of its later success. Early copies quickly gained attention through children’s-book awards and enthusiastic reviews, helping the novel reach a much larger readership. Bloomsbury continued publishing the British editions of the seven-book series.
Scholastic published the United States editions. In America, the first novel was retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, a change often mistaken for a different book. The British and American editions remain the same story with some localized wording.