When will Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Come out?

The release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final Harry Potter book, has not yet been officially announced. This has not stopped the Harry Potter fan community from speculating rampantly on a release date, and a number of fans have established betting pools on when the release date will be. The release is widely anticipated to be in the summer, in which case fans and the publishing world can expect a final announcement by mid-March.

A few pieces of information can be used to extract information about the release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The first is that J.K. Rowling's books usually come out in the summer, so that they do not interrupt children's lives while in school, and they also usually come out every two years. Additionally, representatives of Bloomsbury and Scholastic have made public comments suggesting that a 2007 release date can be expected. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is already available for pre-order at major online retailers, although they hasten to say that the release date is still unknown.

Given the suggestion of a 2007 release, pre-order availability, and previous release history, Harry Potter fans are hoping for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the summer of 2007. The exact date is a cause of intense speculation. Many of the previous books have come out around the time of the solstice. If Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is to be released on the day of the solstice, the release date would be 21 June 2007. This is the earliest anticipated release, and is therefore the one most fans are hoping for. Since the books usually come out on Saturdays, the release date would likely fall on the 23 of June.

Other readers have suggested that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows may come out on 7 July, because of the synchronicity of the seventh book coming out on the seventh day of the seventh month, and because the 7th is a Saturday, the traditional release day. Two arguments point against this theory. The first is that 7 July would be the anniversary of the London bombings, and Rowling would be unlikely to feel comfortable with releasing the book on that date. In addition, the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is coming out on 13 July 2007, and the publisher would be unlikely to invite a conflict with the film.

Another theory being bandied about is that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be published on 31 July, Harry's birthday, and Rowling's as well. The author might well be tempted to celebrate her 42nd birthday with the release of the final book in the series. Alas, 31 July falls on a Tuesday, an unlikely day for a Harry Potter release, although conventional new books are usually released on Tuesdays.

Due to the title, some readers suspect that the book may arrive on 31 October, or Halloween. The dismaying thought of a release that late in 2007 is not appealing to many, who point out that 31 October is a Tuesday during the school year. Given Rowling's penchant for enigmatic titles, the “Hallows” in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows may have nothing at all to do with Halloween, although given the prominent role that this holiday plays in the books and in Harry's life, it may still be important.