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To the millions of fans awaiting the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the book's appearance at midnight on July 21 may have felt like magic. But it was actually a matter of careful planning and flawless execution.
With millions of muggles waiting for the latest Harry Potter volume to hit the bookstores (or their doorsteps), the people charged with its distribution relied not on magic, but on careful planning and painstaking execution.
Getting 8.5 million copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into stores for sale at but not a minute before the witching hour on June 21 was only part of Andy Yablin's challenge. The other part was keeping every single copy under wraps so nobody could ruin the magic.