Illustrator says goodbye to Harry Potter series
St. Paul, Minn. — The final installment of the J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series continues to break publishing records.
In the first 24 hours, 8.3 million copies were sold in the U.S. alone. That's almost 350,000 books an hour, easily making it the fastest-selling book ever.
And it also means that artwork by a Minnesota native is, suddenly, in millions of American homes.
Mary GrandPre grew up in Bloomington and was living in St. Paul when she began illustrating the U.S. version of Harry Potter books. As such, she's had advanced knowledge about the books, including how the series finally ends.
MPR's Tom Crann spoke with Mary GrandPre about her experience working on the Potter books, especially now that it's over.
