Well, that makes determining “2005’s Big Publishing Story” ridiculously easy

As Publishers Marketplace first reported late last night:

Harry Potter fan sites have been abuzz this month with speculation that an announcement about the release of the next book was imminent–fueled by an e-mail sent from Amazon to people who had indicated interest in pre-ordering the book.

Scholastic now confirms that JK Rowling has delivered the manuscript for HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE to her English language publishers. An official announcement, to be issued tomorrow morning, will likely include a release date, price point, and other essentials.

And lo, the official announcement includes all the salient details:

The sixth Harry Potter book will hit the shops on 16 July next year, it has been announced. p>

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be published simultaneously in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Author JK Rowling revealed on Tuesday she had completed the novel after originally saying she would announce details on Christmas Day.

Of course, still no word on how long the actual book is, but I rather suspect that it might prove to be shorter than the doorstop that was ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. Anyway, while I likely won’t be lining up at midnight like the diehards, I have all the other books so I might as well get this one too…