The seventh and reportedly last in the series of books about the young wizard Harry Potter is scheduled to be released on July 21. Raeanne Nightingale write on This Is Wiltshire that while the Harry Potter books a best sellers of literally historic proportions - the sixth in the series sold 6.9 million copies worldwide in the first 24 hours, and the entire series has sold 325 million copies - independent bookseller aren’t likely be able to cash in on it as huge online retailers like Amazon and giant supermarkets like Tesco can sell the books for less than many stores can buy them.

The Book Barn in Niantic in Connecticut (here in good ol’ US of A) is throwing a Harry Potter release party, as it has been doing since 2003. Entertainment will “include magic demonstrations, fire-breathing, and exploding potions. Attendees, who much register in advance, are encouraged to dress up as their favorite character.”

In other Harry Potter news, author J. K. Rowling is suing online auction giant eBay for sales of pirated versions of Harry Potter on the company’s Indian web site, according to the The Times:

Rowling’s lawyers claim that if eBay profits from sales of illegal goods then it should be held liable.

“In Indian copyright law, if the premises of a person is being used for an infringing activity, that person would be liable for that activity,” Mr [Akash] Chittranshi said. “The market is not immune from liability.”

Harry Potter has made a bit of a star out of Gili Bar-Hillel, who translated the books to Hebrew. More than 100 Potter fans attended an event at the Jerusalem International Book Fair where the translator discussed the process of translating the book.

“It’s ridiculous, this is something that never happens to translators,” Bar-Hillel said after speaking at the Jerusalem International Book Fair. “The attention I’ve received is because I’m translating Harry Potter. It’s Harry, not me.”