Harry Potter: Sweepstakes, Contests, and Competitions

Sweepstakes can be found anywhere from TV shows to cereal boxes. They add excitement to any product, captivating audiences with dreams of sports cars, luxury cruises, or even a "moonlight signing."

After reviewing more than 40,000 entries, Scholastic recently announced the winners of their Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows competition. Muggles Andrew Lee, Paige Raudenbush, Ayoluwa Hill, Sophie DeGroot, Joseph Walsh, Anne Harbaugh, and Yanira Rodriguez will be flown to London's celebrated Natural History Museum to attend "J.K. Rowling and the Midnight Signing."

"Just like millions of other fans in the U.S. and around the world," said Lisa Holton, President of Scholastic Trade and Book Fairs, "our sweepstakes winners have been inspired and touched by Rowling's genius work, and this is sure to be an unforgettable experience." (See Earthtimes.org)

According to Abe Books, 1,700 fans will receive a signed copy of Deathly Hallows at the event, and a randomly-chosen 500 will be invited to the midnight reading.

But wait, there's more.

For fans under 18, Amazon.com is hosting a contest of its own. To enter, children must submit a 300 word essay on their favorite Harry Potter character, and if chosen as one of the nine winners, they will receive a free copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The deadline is June 27, and the official rules can be found here.

Most novelists and publishers can't offer all-expense paid trips to London, but give-aways of any kind, if widely publicized, can work wonders for a book's marketing plan.

Harry Potter: A Love Story

The media continues to grasp for anything related to Harry Potter. Hear-say, hoaxes, trivia - anything.

One of the hot stories at present is the boy wizard's first kiss. Sources say that the entire film crew gathered to watch Daniel Radcliffe lay one on Katie Leung; seeking to make that kiss realistically awkward, Leung refused to practice the scene before filming.



Marketers love romance. Love stories sell.

Of course, people don't want to see Pride and Prejudice in everything they read, but in any coming-of-age story, they want to see the characters, well, come of age. Spoofing the sentimental connection that many readers feel with Harry Potter, one man offered the following prediction of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

"Harry, having seen off Voldemort, sweeps Ginny up in his arms in a Richard Gere in An Officer And A Gentleman type way but in overly camp wizarding clothes. I will cry for hours on end I can feel it now. Public outcry will force Rowling to write another book."

In creating this romance, J.K. Rowling's storytelling has been especially effective. By writing budding love relationships as mere secondary plots, she has attracted an audience far beyond the typical "chick lit" readership. Plus, by building romantic tension throughout the series, reserving official coupleship - Ron and Hermione? Harry and Ginny? - until book seven, page seven hundred, she ensures that her fans keep those pages turning.

Readers are more than willing to invest in a subtle love story.