Sure, J.K. Rowling’s final Harry Potter novel was met with unprecedented excitement in 2007, but it’s likely that the publishing industry hasn’t seen anything like the excitement that surrounds Harper Lee’s Go Set A Watchman.
The book was first announced in February and is only the second completed novel from Lee, who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird. In fact, Watchman is more like a rough outline for Mockingbird. It was written before Lee’s most famous work and features Mockingbird’s Scout as a grown-up woman. HarperCollins’ cover even recalls the original covers for Mockingbird.
Watchman will finally be released on Tuesday and the publisher is working overtime to make sure no books get out early. The Wall Street Journal reports that closed-circuit TV monitored copies of the books that sat in Barnes & Noble distribution centers in New Jersey and Nevada. Even when they reach B&N stores, they are still kept in monitored areas and in shrink-wrap.
“We’ve got our best security operations on this book,” Mary Amicucci, vice president of adult trade and children’s books for Barnes & Noble, told the WSJ. “It’s very similar to the size and scope of Harry Potter.”
Amazon also confirmed that it is the most pre-ordered book since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007. And HarperCollins will be able to fill that order, with over 2 million copies printed for Tuesday.
The book is also being distributed around the world and has already been translated into Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Korean. A German version will be out later next week and other translations will be published.
The Guardian was permitted to publish the first chapter, as well as the audiobook version, which is ready by actress Reese Witherspoon.
cover from HarperCollins