Related: New Harry Potter to appear July 16

    

The sixth Harry Potter book, 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince', written by children's author J. K. Rowling (pictured) will be published on July 16. (photo: Yahoo)

    

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter , in a scene from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (File photo: Yahoo)

    BEIJING, Dec. 23 -- The newly announced sixth Potter titled "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" has "broomsticked" to the top on the Amazon.com's best-seller list.

    Author J.K. Rowling released official word of her sixth book's completion Wednesday on her Web site.

    "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the book will be shorter than the last 38-chapter whopper and will hit shelves on both sides of the Atlantic on July 16 of next year.

    "I have a great feeling of release in being able to talk freely about the fact that the book is finished; it has been a weighty secret to carry around, as you can imagine," Rowling wrote on her site. "But finally sharing it with you was wonderful--much more fun than wrapping presents and tidying the house before the family arrives, which is what I am supposed to be doing at the moment."

    It is certainly a Christmas present for those Potter fans who had waited for 549 days since the last installment.

    Barnes & Noble's Web site also has the book listed as its top-seller, nearly seven months before release. Amazon said it sold more than 1.3 million pre-release titles of the last book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," setting a record for early orders and accounting for more than $23 million in sales--even at a 40 percent off discount. Enditem

    (Agencies)