Reading

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in braille, audio and large print

Summary: All about the new Harry Potter book and how you can order your copy in braille and audio!

• About the book
• Facts and figures
• Comments from Potter fans
• The story
• Get your copy!
• Right to Read
• JK Rowling’s official website
• More Harry

---

Find out what happens next!

About the book

On 21 July 2007, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was the first ever novel in the UK to go on sale to the general public in audio, braille, large print and standard print simultaneously.

The braille and Daisy audio versions, which are published by RNIB, enabled thousands of blind and partially sighted people to read the same book at the same time as their sighted peers. This is a significant milestone as book fans often wait months, and some times even years, for a new book to be ‘translated’ into braille or audio format. However, when authors and publishers work in partnership with organisations such as RNIB it is possible to produce the same book, at the same time for blind and partially sighted readers.

Facts and figures

• RNIB took 96 advance orders of the braille version and 282 advance orders of the Daisy audio version. All copies were despatched to reach readers on the release date.
• The print book converted to 1072 pages of grade 2 braille, which is 11 volumes, and 24 hours of audio.
• A total of 159 staff hours of production time were used to meet the initial orders.
• On average, it took 33 minutes to completely emboss one full braille copy.
• If you put all the braille pages end to end, the book would stretch to just over 169.5 metres in length. That's equivalent to 48.5 Hagrids laid end to end!
• Only a small number of key RNIB staff, all sworn to secrecy and bound by confidentiality agreements, were involved in the production process from start to finish.

Comments from Potter fans

A fan whose Daisy audio version of the book was delivered to them on 21 July, from RNIB, emailed us to say:

“Thank you, thank you to all the technical and admin people who have made my day! I pre-ordered the latest Harry Potter Daisy CD and it has come today, the very day the book is published. And it didn't even need to be delivered by an owl or any magic, just good old Royal Mail! This is so amazing, you're all wonderful. Thank you!”

A user of the braille library who was also able to get a copy of the book on 21 July emailed us to say:

“Hi, I had to write and thank you all, you can imagine my excitement when I tore open the boxes, amazing!!! To find the "Harry Potter" book, I felt honoured, enchanted, that maybe my fingers would be the first to fly along the pages. My heart is still beating with the excitement of receiving the book, and we are on a par with the sighted world! Thank you once again for a platinum service. Happy rest of the summer, I will start reading my new gem today!”

The story

The seventh (and final) book in the Harry Potter series answers many of the questions that everyone has been eagerly awaiting. Harry has been burdened with the seemingly impossible task of locating and destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. To do this, he must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow the inexorable path laid out for him.

Get your copy!

Grade 2 braille and Daisy versions (read once again by Stephen Fry), are available to buy directly from RNIB for the recommended retail price of £17.99.

Contact RNIB Customer Services on 0845 702 3153, email cservices@rnib.org.uk or order now via the online shop.

Members of the RNIB National Library Service can order a copy to borrow by calling RNIB Customer Services on 0845 702 3153.

The standard print, commercial audio and 18 point large print, published by Bloomsbury, are available from public libraries and high street bookshops.

Right to Read

Lesley-Anne Alexander, Chief Executive of RNIB says: “Blind and partially sighted people have the same right to read as their sighted peers, yet more than 95 per cent of books are never published in a format that they can read, such as braille, large print, or audio. We are committed to working with authors, publishers and booksellers to help them reach these important audiences. RNIB, as part of the Right to Read Alliance, has worked closely with JK Rowling and Bloomsbury, the publishers of Harry Potter, to make this last instalment available to blind and partially sighted readers at the same time as their sighted peers. We’ve shown it can be done!”

JK Rowling says: “I am delighted that blind and partially sighted children and adults are going to be given the opportunity, at the same time as everyone else, to find out for themselves what happens in the last book. I would like to thank RNIB and Bloomsbury, my publisher, for making this possible."

The Right to Read campaign was first launched in 2002 to tackle the shortage of books available to blind and partially sighted people, and those with print reading disabilities. Over 3000 people have signed the Right to Read Declaration to say “I believe that every one has the right to read the same book; at the same time; at the same price”.

JK Rowling’s official website

The official JK Rowling website was developed with accessibility in mind. Designers of the site, Lightmaker, worked closely with RNIB and Macromedia to develop the pioneering new version which was relaunched with enhanced accessibility features.

JK Rowling Flash website - case study

More Harry

Facts and figures about Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince which was released in July 2005.

Content author: webeditor@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/11/2008 11:13