Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Rowling, J.K. 20th Century,British Literature,Children's Literature,Fiction,Modern Firsts,Signed Books,Women's Lit

First American edition, first printing. Signed by Rowling in black marker on the title page. Publisher's quarter purple cloth and teal paper-covered boards stamped in a repeating diamond pattern, lettered in metallic green to spine; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by GrandPré with her illustration of Harry and Hermione riding Buckbeak to front board, decoratively lettered in metallic green. Near fine book, with a touch of rubbing to spine ends, light soiling to text block edges, and previous owner USF professor Beverley Hock's address label to front free endpaper; fine unclipped dust jacket. Overall, a fantastic, signed copy of the dark third entry in the Harry Potter series. Errington A7(b). A pivotal novel in the Harry Potter series, The Prisoner of Azkaban was published before the series reached the level of popularity and cult following that it has today, but still managed to reach critical acclaim. In his third year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter and his friends search for the villainous outlaw Sirius Black after his escape from the wizard prison Azkaban. Unlike the first two books in the series, The Prisoner of Azkaban does not end with a cut-and-dry triumph over evil, but rather begins to pose the question of how media portals and popular perception affect whether someone is considered good or bad- a notion that recurs and becomes increasingly central to the story line as the series progresses. In October of 1999, J.K. Rowling came to the US to tour and promote her third book in the Harry Potter series, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Leading up to its release, Rowling's popularity in the US was finally catching up with her popularity in the UK, and there was significant competition among US bookstores to have Rowling sign at their locations. One of the lucky winners was San Francisco's Cover to Cover, owned by Nicky Salan. Dr. Beverley Hock was friends with many San Francisco booksellers, including Nicky. After obtained a coveted admission ticket to the Cover to Cover signing, Beverly was able to get US copies of the first three Harry Potter books signed by Rowling. Dr. Beverly Vaughn Hock (Ed.D.) is a professor at the University of San Francisco, who specializes in children's literature. She has led children's literature study tours around the world and contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. The Northern California Children's Booksellers Association honored her with the Otter Award for her "ongoing and unique role in bringing children and books together," and the Iris Center named her one of the "Outstanding Women of San Francisco."