JK Rowling and Publisher Accused of "Eating" Harry Potter Profits  6/21/07

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and her publishers Bloomsbury have been accused of "sucking" away all the profits from the forthcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book from the stores who will sell it.

The seventh and final book about the boy wizard is set for release on 21 July (07) and British booksellers claim they will either make no money or even a loss by selling the novel.

A sample survey of independent booksellers found many had only ordered a few copies of the book because they couldn't compete with the price war of online booksellers.

Sydney Davies, the head of trade and industry at the Booksellers Association, said: "It's not a book any more. It's become a marketing tool."

Tim Robinson, manager of London's Muswell Hill Bookshop, said: "The price war is ludicrous because we could all be making money on it."