Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels by English author J. K. Rowling about an adolescent boy named Harry Potter. The story is mostly set at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a school for young wizards, and focuses on Harry Potter's fight against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents as part of his plan to take over the wizarding world.

Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States) in 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide, spawning films, video games and assorted merchandise. The six books published to date have collectively sold more than 325 million copies and have been translated into more than 63 languages. The seventh and last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is scheduled to be released on 21 July 2007. Publishers announced a record-breaking 12 million copies for the first print run in the U.S. alone.

The success of the novels has made Rowling the highest earning novelist in literary history. English language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic Press in the United States, Allen & Unwin in Australia and Raincoast Books in Canada.

The first four books have been made into highly successful motion pictures by Warner Bros. The four motion pictures released to-date are among the highest grossing film series of all time, with USD$3.5 billion in worldwide receipts, only trailing the James Bond films ($4.3 billion) and the Star Wars films ($4.1 billion). The fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, began filming in February 2006, and is scheduled for release on 11 July 2007. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has already been given a release date of November 21, 2008, and will be directed by David Yates.

From: Wikipedia: Harry Potter (books) and Harry Potter (films)