Potter sales hit magic number

J K Rowling has amassed a £65m fortune

The Harry Potter phenomenon continues as sales of the book series top the magic 100 million mark.

Tales of the teenage wizard have become bestsellers around the world, with translations in 42 languages from Albanian to Zulu.

Interest in J K Rowling books is growing still further as fans await the release of the film of the first book - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Fans are awaiting the film of the first book

The international success has made a multi-millionaire out of its author.

The Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling has amassed a £65m fortune.

Her agent Christopher Little said: "Harry Potter books have entered the pages of history.

"To put this into perspective, imagine that every man, woman and child in the UK had two Harry Potter books."

The agent picked up on the potential of Harry Potter after a draft landed on his desk in 1995.

Sparked interest

From day one Rowling has planned to pen seven Potter books.

Each book tells the story of a school year in the life of Harry and his friends at Hogwarts, the wizarding boarding school.

The success of the books among children has been praised for sparking an interest in reading for youngsters.

It has also reportedly prompted a rise in the number of children attending boarding school.

But even the remarkable achievement of the series has a long way to go to beat The Bible's record of an estimated six billion sales.

The second biggest bestseller is Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-Tung - dubbed the Little Red Book - with sales of 900 million.