I have very fond memories of waiting in line at midnight for my pre-ordered copy of the next book in the Harry Potter series. My dad and I read the first three books together, although we wound up tackling Goblet of Fire separately, and he made sure to have at least one copy of the last three books in the series on pre-order so we could wait in line at our nearest Barnes & Noble to get our hands on it. The only thing we had to fight over was who got the chance to read it first! Now, the next print installment in the Harry Potter series could be even bigger than the last.

Over 5,000 bookstores are celebrating the publication of the print edition of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which will be released at midnight on Sunday. It’s already the most pre-ordered book since Deathly Hallows, according to Barnes & Noble.

There are a couple things that differentiate this release from all the others, though; not only is it a script of the stage play, but it’s also the first Harry Potter book not to be written by J.K. Rowling. Many fans are torn about whether or not to treat this latest story as Harry Potter canon, although some say that if the story has Rowling’s blessing that’s good enough for them.

This midnight release will also coincide with another special holiday in the Harry Potter world–the birthday of the Boy Who Lived himself; if you’ll recall, Harry’s birthday is also the day he finds out he’s been officially accepted into Hogwarts.

The readable fun for fans won’t end tonight, either–in November, Scholastic also plans to publish the script for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and this one Rowling has written herself.

(via The New York Times)

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