Final Harry Potter book to be leaked early?

Harry Potter fans may be laying their hands on the final book in the series earlier than expected, for speculation is rising that some shops are getting ready to sell the book early.

This comes even though retailers have given written undertakings that they will only sell the book on July 21, the official publication date.

In the past, retailers have stuck to the embargo laid down by Bloomsbury because Rowling’s publishers have threatened to not to let them sell the future Potter books.

However, since ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ is the final book in the series, Katherine Rushton from The Bookseller magazine thinks that one just might break the embargo.

"Because it’s the final Harry Potter, Bloomsbury doesn’t have that same power. It has played its last ace card," the Telegraph quoted her, as saying.

"It’s quite possible one will break the embargo. They’d do it to be first, and for all the PR," she said.

Bloomsbury also said that in case someone did break they embargo, they were not only hoping that the public would stay away from the ‘spoilsport retailer’, but that the offender would also be in for some massive backlash.

"If such a thing were to happen, we believe that the public would make their feelings known by not buying it from such a spoilsport retailer. It is our intention to vigorously enforce the embargo if required," a rep said.

To make sure that the book is not sold ahead of its date, Bloomsbury has had retailers sign an agreement stating that not only will the books be kept "in a secure area under lock and key" so that they not be "visible to the public for any reason", but has also not permitted staff to take photographs of the moment Bloomsbury delivers the final book to retailers.