Harry Potter by Scholastic – the American publisher of the books – as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", after Rowling had received US$105,000 for the American rights – a record amount for a children's book by an unknown author. Fearing that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with magic (although the Philosopher's Stone is an ancient tradition in alchemy), Scholastic insisted that the book be given the title "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for the American market. The second book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and
Harry Potter in translation Harry Potter in translation The "Harry Potter" series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling is one of the most translated series of all time, with the first book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", having been translated into over 74 languages. This includes languages diverse as Azerbaijani, Malayalam and Welsh as well as the dead languages Latin and Ancient Greek. This makes it the longest published work in Ancient Greek since the novels of Heliodorus of Emesa in the 3rd century AD. Additionally, regional adaptations of the books have been made to accommodate regional dialects such as the American