U.S. release

In the United States, Scholastic Publishing releases Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The name changes from Philosopher to Sorcerer in the belief that it will be more appealing to children.

Beth Puffer, manager of the Bank Street Bookstore in New York City:

When the Potter books first came out, we didn’t know they would sell millions of copies, but we all read them and loved them and we thought they were the kinds of books that would really grab a child. We hand-sold the heck out of them, the same way we would with any book that was so well written.