Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, announced today that pre-orders for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the J.K. Rowling Harry Potter series, total more than 1.2 million, the largest number of pre-orders for any book in the company’s history. Under tight security, Barnes & Noble will begin shipping the Potter book to its stores starting on Monday, July 16th.

More than 700 Barnes & Noble stores across the country will host “Midnight Magic Costume Parties” on Friday, July 20. Stores will remain open late and sell Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the stroke of midnight, when it officially goes on sale. Festivities at the Barnes & Noble store at Union Square, located at 33 East 17th Street in New York City, will be webcast live on Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com) beginning at 9:00 p.m. To find the Midnight Magic Costume Party near you, please visit www.bn.com/midnightmagic.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will sell for $20.99, 40 percent off the list price of $34.99. Barnes & Noble Members can buy the book for $18.89, a savings of 46 percent. The compact disc and audiocassettes for the unabridged book will also be available. Customers can order the book at any Barnes & Noble store or online at Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com).

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 793 bookstores in 50 states. For the fourth year in a row, the company is the nation’s top bookseller brand, as determined by a brand’s overall strength based on its combination of familiarity, quality and purchase intent, according to the EquiTrend® Brand Study by Harris Interactive®. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company’s corporate Web site: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com.