As an author, the thrill of knowing your latest book is doing well never diminishes, even after 20 years of publishing. The script book of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, however, was a bit different, because it was a collaboration with the creative team who produced the play: the director John Tiffany and in particular the writer Jack Thorne … But most of the credit for the success of the script book must go to the booksellers without whom of course there would be no bestsellers. Thank you all for getting behind the script book, and welcoming Harry back as a grown-up.
Andre Breedt, managing director of Nielsen Book Research International, also spoke:
To sell a million copies of one title is an impressive and relatively rare achievement. The fact that so many authors have achieved this level of sales in such a short time, and in some cases several times over, is quite phenomenal. Our ‘Class of 2016’ books, in Platinum, Gold and Silver, offer a clear view of British readers’ current interests and obsessions, from what makes our children laugh to how we as adults make sense of what is going on around us.
The Nielsen Company unveiled its 21st Century Platinum Hall of Fame last week. There are 97 titles on the list, by 64 authors, which is made up of publications that have reached Platinum status between 1998 and the end of 2015. It contains more books by Rowling than any other single author: all eight Harry Potter books, plus The Casual Vacancy (Cursed Child is not included since it reached Platinum status in 2016).
