30 June 2008

Kite Runner helps Bloomsbury post-Potter

Books by Khaled Hosseini have aided publisher Bloomsbury keep its position in its post-Harry Potter era.The Bloomsbury editions of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns between them have sold four million copies since publication, the publisher revealed ahead of its AGM, with the latter the highest selling book in the UK for the first six months of 2008.

Bloomsbury chief executive Nigel Newton said: "The group's operating performance for the period has been encouraging and is in line with management's expectations."The remarkable success story for Bloomsbury in the first six months of 2008 has been the incredible growth in the popularity of the books of Khaled Hosseini.

"Looking forward, Mr Newton expected success for Mary Ann Shaffer's novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, due out in August but already receiving "extraordinary advance quotes from critics", and Sheila Hancock's second book Just Me.Turning forward, he expected "progress in all areas" for the group in 2008."The measures that we are taking to improve efficiency, streamline systems, and innovate in both publishing and marketing are already delivering positive results," the Bloomsbury chief concluded.JK Rowling's seven Harry Potter books have now sold over 400 million copies in all editions from its publishers worldwide.

Story from inthenews.co.uk