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As of August 2018, a staggering half a billion Harry Potter books had sold worldwide, * of which were sold in the United States. British author J.K. Rowling published her first book, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ in the United Kingdom in 1997, and the American edition was released in the following year – with some changes.

Changes to J.K. Rowling’s novels outside the UK

In the United States, India, and Pakistan, the title ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ was altered to ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’. The change was made after Arthur Levine from Scholastic stated that he believed the word ‘philosopher’ was too ‘archaic’ for readers and expressed concerns that readers would not relate to the book’s original title. Rowling herself has since said she regretted allowing this change but did not feel she was in a strong enough position to challenge it at the time. Whether the change had a significant effect on readers choosing to buy and read the book is unclear, but the book remains popular on a global level decades after its publication. As of November 2018, close to * Goodreads members worldwide included the novel on their ‘to be read’ lists.

Other changes made were of the linguistic nature, to cater for readers used to American English. For the benefit of U.S. readers, the British word ‘mum’, as well as Irish term ‘mam’ used by the character Seamus Finnigan, were changed to ‘mom’. Other words were also changed to suit an American audience, including ‘jumper’ to ‘sweater’, ‘sweets’ to ‘candy’, and ‘windscreen’ to ‘windshield’.

Another change which affected the books and their author on a global level was the creation of Rowling’s pen name. Rather than publishing the books under the name Jo or Joanne Rowling, the author was advised to use initials to disguise her gender in order to appeal to boys as well as girls. It was thought that despite the book being considered suitable and relatable for both genders, that young boys may not choose or relate to a book written by a woman. Years later, favorability of J.K. Rowling among men and women is almost identical.