Special Edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on the way!

Remember when the release of the next Harry Potter book was something so exciting you'd have to queue halfway down the road all night for it? Well, don't expect those days to come back or anything, but Scholastic in the US is set to issue a special anniversary edition of the first book this September.

Part of me wants to refuse to call it Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, since it's blatantly really called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but that's what the title's going to be on this release so I'll go along with it. Reluctantly. Anyway, the new edition - available 11 years and nearly 3 months after it was first published in the UK, but 10 years after it was first published in the US - will include exclusive bonus material by J.K. Rowling, as well as new cover art and a new four-colour frontispiece by Mary Grandpré.

The new cover will feature Harry looking into the Mirror of Erised, and according to Grandpré depicts "another side of Harry... a vulnerable side." (Um, have we ever seen anything but Harry's vulnerable side?) Scholastic doesn't seem to have been very forthcoming about what the new material from J.K. Rowling might be - bonus scenes? Additional information about something or other? Or just a bit of a ramble about the book and the anniversary and Harry Potter in general? - but that's what's really interesting here. Roll on September!

(In the meantime, you can see more info and the new artwork at Scholastic's website.)