The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

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Breaking Dawn hits UK

05.08.08 Catherine Neilan

Stephenie Meyer's latest urban fantasy novel Breaking Dawn was launched in what is being described as the one of the biggest events in children's publishing since Harry Potter.

The embargoed publication, which went on sale yesterday (4th August), was celebrated with bookshop events across the UK. Little, Brown imprint Atom recorded that nearly 400 copies were sold within 20 minutes of the Oxford Street Borders opening, and estimated that it had sold 20,000 copies in the UK during the first day of sales.

The book is also the fourth bestselling title on Amazon, following the two editions of J K Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard and Ching He-Huang's Chinese Food Made Easy.

Orbit has printed 500,000 copies in hardback and C-format for both the domestic and export market. In the US, Little, Brown has estimated it sold 1.3 million copies of Breaking Dawn on publication date, 2nd August.

Ursula Mackenzie, c.e.o at Little, Brown, said re-orders were already "pouring in".

“The Stephenie Meyer phenomenon has finally hit the UK," she added.

LittleBrown Charts Stephenie Meyer Catherine Neilan