Potter mania in Blata l-Bajda

A new stock of Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, the sixth chapter in J.K. Rowling's wizarding saga, is due to hit the shelves at Merlin Library in Blata l-Bajda after the bookshop sold out of practically all its copies on Saturday, the launch day.

Merlin collaborated with Bloomsbury, the publishers, to make the book available to Maltese fans at precisely 1.01 a.m. to enable them to get their hands on the highly coveted first edition copies of the book at the same time as contemporaries around the world.

During the night launch, Merlin Library gave out free hardback Harry Potter journals to every customer, as a gift to its loyal Harry Potter customers.

Merlin said the scene at Blata l-Bajda was unprecedented. In the middle of the night, queues formed half way down the street, at times reaching the government school down the road. The most ardent of fans had been waiting in front of the bookshop since before 11 p.m. armed with blankets and drinks to while away the time. By 12.30 a.m. the shop was overflowing with patient customers.

As the atmosphere reached fever pitch, the last few seconds were counted down and the first sealed Bloomsbury box was opened...