Falls Church, Virgina, Wins Amazon.com's "Harry-est Town in America" Title

Just days away from shipping orders for the July 21 release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Amazon.com announced in a press release that Falls Church, Virginia has won the contest for "Harry-est Town in America." Vermont, Utah, and Washington are the "Harry-est States", but Washington D.C. beat out all 50 states in the Amazon.com contest.

Amazon.com spent months tracking pre-orders for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Falls Church, Virginia residents placed more orders per capita than any other town in America. The Mary Riley Styles Public Library Foundation Trust of Falls Church will receive a $5,000 gift certificate from Amazon.com to congratulate the town on winning the Harry Potter contest.

In the Amazon.com press release, Falls Church Mayor Robin S. Gardner says, "Our small-town community places great importance on education and reading, and it's no surprise that we have a wealth of Harry Potter fans of all ages." The 11,000 citizens of Falls Church are waving their library cards to celebrate the ultimate game of Quidditch.

There was no prize for the Harry Potter contest by state, but Vermont had the highest per capita pre-orders of the new Harry Potter book. However, the nation's politicians showed their Harry Potter fever by beating out all 50 states for the most pre-orders per capita, based on U.S. Census data and company order tracking records.

Muggles everywhere are waiting squeamishly for the more than 1.6 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows to be shipped by Amazon.com on July 21. The pre-orders for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows breaks the previous Harry Potter book record at 1.5 million pre-orders.

Greg Greeley, Vice President of Books at Amazon.com announced in a separate press release that "as a show of gratitude to our customers, we are giving every customer who pre-orders Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before July 21, a $5 Amazon.com promotional certificate to use on a future purchase in the month of August." Amazon.com is also giving customers a Saturday delivery of the Harry Potter release at no extra charge.

Amazon.com also announced the winners of the Harry Potter Owl Delivery Writing Adventure contest. The contest winners will receive a midnight delivery of Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows on July 21 by UPS. Each winner will also receive a Harry Potter prize package featuring hundreds of dollars of Harry Potter memorabilia. To see the winners of the Harry Potter Owl Delivery Writing Adventure, CLICK HERE.

Amazon.com has selected ten "Kid Correspondents" for the upcoming release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Amazon was looking for energetic and excited kids who lived and breathed their passion for Harry Potter. Kids had to submit video applications for the Harry Potter Kid Correspondent position at Amazon.com. The Harry Potter correspondents will be answering questions, discussing theories, and making predictions about how the series will end at www.amazon.com/kidcorrespondents

Sources:

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