The final Harry Potter book arrived in Vietnam Wednesday and will be released on July 21.

Director-General of the Ho Chi Minh Book Distribution Company (FAHASA) Pham Minh Thuan, said that the company had received thousands of orders from Vietnamese Harry Potter fans since reservations were opened in June.

The wizard lovers can get their hands on the book at all FAHASA bookstores nationwide for VND575,000 (US$35.7).

FAHASA is also offering a free Harry Potter hat to those that buy the book. Customers buying two copies will receive a Harry Potter t-shirt.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh volume in the British author J.K. Rowling’s series, will be in bookstores around the world at 00:01 BST on July 21, or 7:30 am the same day in Vietnam.

In 2005, FAHASA signed a contract with British publishing house Bloomsbury to become Harry Potter’s sole distributor in Vietnam. The contract allows FAHASA to distribute the book at the same time as other countries.

The previous Harry Potter volumes became available in Vietnam one or two months later than in other parts of the world.

In related news, the HCMC-based Youth Publishing House is negotiating to purchase the rights to translate the final Harry Potter book into Vietnamese.

Author Ly Lan, who now lives in the United States, is expected to sign on as translator.

The Vietnamese edition is expected hit book stores in mid-October.

Source : Thanh Nien Daily