Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the "Harry Potter" series. Set during protagonist Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores the past of Harry's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, and Harry's preparations for the final battle against Voldemort alongside his headmaster and mentor Albus Dumbledore. The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury, and in the United States by Scholastic on 16 July 2005, as well as in several other countries. It sold nine
Harry Potter world began holding events to coincide with the midnight release of the books, beginning with the 2000 publication of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". The events, commonly featuring mock sorting, games, face painting, and other live entertainment have achieved popularity with Potter fans and have been highly successful in attracting fans and selling books with nearly nine million of the 10.8 million initial print copies of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" sold in the first 24 hours. The final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" became the fastest selling book in history, moving