Pottermore.com launches
The evolution of Pottermore Publishing can be tracked back to April 2012 with the launch of Pottermore.com. The website was a unique digital offering and hugely popular amongst fans. It was comprised of immersive experiences and a reading companion to the Harry Potter series and its innovative approach to digital publishing was further extended by the inclusion of an e-Commerce offering; the Pottermore Shop gave consumers a place to buy the Harry Potter eBooks and digital audiobooks (DAB) directly and for the first time.
Instant Success
By early 2013, the success of Pottermore.com was clear. With over 8 million registered users, 30 billion page views and over 100 million games played. Alongside this, even in the early days of digital publishing, the Pottermore Shop continued to flourish. The first of the Fantastic Beasts films were formally announced as projects in the autumn of 2013. Much to fans’ delight, in December 2013, the Guardian reported that a play based on Harry’s life would be coming to the stage, this theatrical production became Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Pottermore.com relaunched
In September 2015, Pottermore.com was relaunched to put a new emphasis on franchise news, while maintaining the writing J.K. Rowling had authored for Pottermore specifically, as well as the sorting ceremony and wand-choosing elements from the original site.
Open Commerce
As it continued to push the boundaries of digital publishing, Pottermore shifted to an open commerce strategy; the digital formats of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World writing were made available for consumers to purchase directly from online retailers. What started out as relationships with Apple, Amazon, Google, Audible and others has now grown into a network of global partnerships and has been a huge driver in the company’s success
Apple Enhanced Editions released
With a focus on creativity, Pottermore worked with Apple to develop enhanced eBook editions of Harry Potter. These were made available on Apple Books from September in 5 languages and included illustrations, animations and footnotes based on Jo’s exclusive writing.
Olly Moss covers
Wanting to make the digital editions of the Harry Potter series uniquely their own, Pottermore collaborated with Olly Moss who designed new artwork for the covers of Harry Potter 1-7 in eBook and audio format. These were rolled out in December 2015 and made available worldwide.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Playscript eBook published
In July 2016, the eBook of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was successfully published in 24 languages on the opening night of the play in London. As the curtain closed on the finale of the first show, Pottermore employees were working in the office to fulfil pre-orders of the book that were being released at midnight.
Pottermore presents eBooks short series published
Pottermore Presents is a series of bite-sized eBooks that dig deep into the Harry Potter stories, with titbits taken from Pottermore’s archives and original writing from J.K. Rowling. The series offers Harry Potter fans added insights into the stories, settings and characters and were all lovingly curated by Pottermore.
Fantastic Beasts Screenplay
The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay was released on 18th November 2016, the same day as the movie’s release into theatres.