Professional Harry Potter impersonator Luke Williams enjoys a drink at a pub in London in the UK. Fans across the world are planning fancy-dress reading parties to mark the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter novel. [Photo/Agencies]

Muggles don their gowns to mark anniversary of boy wizard's debut

LONDON - Harry Potter turns 20 on Monday when muggle readers in gowns and glasses from Indonesia to Uruguay will celebrate the birth of a global publishing phenomenon in 1997.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (later renamed Sorcerer's Stone for the United States market) introduced the boy wizard and a magical cast of supporting characters.

Penniless single mother J.K. Rowling finally succeeded after a series of rebuffs from publishers, and the book became the first installment of a seven-novel series that has sold 450 million copies worldwide and spawned eight blockbuster films.

The Potter universe now encompasses theme parks in the US and Japan and a permanent exhibition at London's Warner Bros Studios, helping to turn Rowling into a billionaire.