Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Sets New Sales Records at Barnes & Noble; 1.3 Million Copies Sold in the First 48 Hours; 378,000 Copies Sold in the First Hour or 105 Copies Per Second

Business Wire, July 17, 2005

NEW YORK -- Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, sold a record 1.3 million copies of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in the first 48 hours of its release at its retail stores and on Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com). In the first hour, Barnes & Noble bookstores sold 378,000 copies or 105 copies per second.

"This weekend was nothing short of a triumph for publishing, bookselling and reading," said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "Each J. K. Rowling book sets new sales records, and this book was no exception. First-day sales at Barnes & Noble increased 40 percent over first-day sales of Rowling's previous book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

On Friday night, the country was focused on Harry Potter. Barnes & Noble stores around the country held "Midnight Magic" parties and stayed open to the wee hours of the morning to accommodate the fans that wanted to be the first to buy the book. People began gathering outside of Barnes & Noble stores as early as 10:00 p.m. Thursday evening, and in some cities, lines were as long as 1,200 customers. Storytellers, witches, magicians, face painters and Harry Potter look-a-likes were on hand for in-store celebrations.

The fun continued on Saturday with Barnes & Noble stores extending the festive atmosphere with lots of Harry Potter-themed activities. A sampling of weekend festivities around the country include:

--In the Chico, California, Barnes & Noble, 1,200 people attended the store's "Midnight Magic" party. A group of kids camped out in front of the store Thursday night, starting at 10 pm, with parents looking on the whole time from the parking lot.

--More than 5,000 people attended the celebration at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in Manhattan, which featured a taped broadcast of J. K. Rowling from Edinburgh Castle. Jim Dale, the voice for all of the Potter characters in audio books, hosted the party. All floors of the store were transformed into the world of Harry Potter with fun and games at Diagon Alley, Eelops Owl Emporium (with live owls and rabbits), the Apothecary with its magic potions, Ollivander's (where children learned the secrets of wand making), Hogwarts Castle and the Dark Forest.

--In Madison Wisconsin, at the East Towne Mall Barnes & Noble, store staff dressed as characters from the books. The cafe manager was Professor Snape, who snarled back answers to the questions he was asked while he made at least a couple of hundred frappuccinos.

In addition to the new novel, Barnes & Noble bookstores and Barnes & Noble.com continue to experience strong sales for Rowling's first five novels in the series - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaba, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The books are available individually, in hardcover and paperback, and in a special box set.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 821 bookstores in 50 states. For the fourth year in a row, the company is the nation's top retail brand for quality, according to the EquiTrend(R) Brand Study by Harris Interactive(R). Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web's largest e-commerce sites and the number one online bookseller for quality among e-commerce companies, according to the latest EquiTrend survey.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company's corporate Web site: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com.