Harry Potter author JK Rowling has announced that fans will be able to download the adventures of the boy wizard digitally from her own website. The move will allow readers to circumvent e-commerce giants like Amazon and Apple to buy their digital books.

Rowling announced the move as she launched her website, Pottermore, yesterday at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The site will not just offer readers a place to buy the books, it will also give them access to new Harry Potter material, games and character interaction features.

Rowling, who retained the digital rights to her series of novels, always refused to allow the Potter books to be released online, despite pressure from publishers. The Scottish author’s new website venture, which will see UK publisher Bloomsbury get a slice of the digital revenue, is a major disappointment for e-book retailers like Amazon who will miss out on millions of downloads.

Other writers, such as Stephen King, have created digital outlets for their work as well leading to speculation that Amazon may have to allow formats not downloaded from its site onto the Kindle device.

However while the idea of offering independent downloads may work for established writers and brands, smaller independent content owners may struggle to turn a profit without the help of giants like Apple and Amazon.

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