7th and Final Potter Book Out July 21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) February 3, 2007 -- Harry Potter fans, the end is near.

The author posted a brief announcement on her Web site Thursday, followed soon by releases from her British publisher, Bloomsbury, and U.S. publisher, Scholastic Inc.

Readers immediately rejoiced, with dozens of ecstatic messages posted on the Potter fan site, http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org, within minutes of the announcement.
"OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!!!!" read one typical message.

"WAH!!! I think I'm going crazy!!!! We finally have a date!!!" added another fan.
Other comments were sadder, noting the series' conclusion.

"I can't wait to read the book, but at the same time, I'm afraid to read it," read a message from a fan named Christine, who identified herself as a "30-something" mom. "I can't stand the thought of anything happening to the characters that I've grown to love! What an odd feeling."

Potter readers have a lot to look forward to, and to fear. Rowling's stories have darkened considerably over the years and the author has said two characters will be killed off in Book 7.

"I don't always enjoy killing my characters. I didn't enjoy killing the character who died at the end of Book 6," Rowling said during a reading last summer at Radio City Music Hall, declining to name that person in case someone had yet to finish the book. "I really didn't enjoy doing that but I had been planning that for years so it wasn't quite as poignant as you might imagine. I'd already done my grieving when I actually came to write it."

The print run and number of pages have yet to be revealed, but judging from the suggested cover price, a meaty $34.99, $5 more than Potter 6, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the last book will likely match or exceed the 600-plus page length of previous releases.

"We have held the price for the past four years," Scholastic publicist Kyle Good told The Associated Press. "In that time, costs of production, paper, trucking, gas and security to be sure all readers can enjoy the book at the release time have all increased."

Source: http://www.yahoo.com