Harry Potter fans look set to have an easier time getting hold of a copy of his final adventure as publishers announced today that a record-breaking 12 million copies will be in the first print run in the United States alone.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which comes out on July 21, is the seventh and final book in the series by the British author J. K. Rowling.

It is expected to be one of the biggest publishing events in recent years. Speculation has run high that it could mark the death of the boy wizard hero.

Lisa Holton, president of Scholastic Trade and Book Fairs, said today: "This is so much more than the publication of a single book. It’s a true celebration of the Harry Potter movement and of the joy of reading."

The fantasy series has sold more than 325 million copies worldwide and been translated into 64 languages and made into four films. A fifth film based on the fifth instalment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is due to reach cinemas a week ahead of the new book’s arrival.

The first print run of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows breaks the previous record of 10.8 million copies, set by the sixth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which was released in 2005. That book sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours.

In the UK, it sold more than 2 million copies on the first day of release, making it the fastest-selling book of all time, according to the publisher Scholastic.

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