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On Saturday, senior Globe and Mail arts reporter James Adams examined in his article Turning the page on Pottermania the impact of a little book about a boy wizard on Vancouver's Raincoast Books — the originating Canadian publisher and distributor of each new novel in the Harry Potter series.

As the final instalment of J.K. Rowling's magnum opus, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, goes on sale next Saturday, Adams writes:

"Nine years into its careful stewardship of what one writer has called 'publishing's equivalent of the Alberta oil sands,' Raincoast can claim to have sold more than seven million Potters in hardcover and paperback.

In fact, according to pollsters Ipsos Reid, 45 per cent of all Canadian households, including 4.5-million adults, have read at least one Potter novel."

But as Adams notes, booksellers don't like the competitive pricing regime and deep discounting that's distinguished the Potter market.

After the juggernaut of Pottermania passes with this seventh and final instalment, what does the future hold for Canadian book publishers?

James Adams was online today to take your questions about the new Harry Potter book, the Canadian publishing industry and book prices.

Join the Conversation at that time or submit your questions and comments in advance.

Your questions and Mr. Adams' answers will appear at the bottom of this page when the discussion begins.

Sasha Nagy, globeandmail.com: James: Thanks for taking time to discuss Harry Potter and the magician's profound inpace on Canadian publishing. I've been the midnight book releases (the kids made me do it) and my daughter has already demanded that I do the same again. Such is her angst about this final installment, she wondered aloud the other day about what will she have to look forward "AP" (After Potter). As a dad, it's great to see a child excited about reading. As you wrote in Saturday's Globe, there also appears to be much angst within Canadian publishing circles too.

I am wondering about what you feel the real legacy of J.K. Rowling's series will be? A new generation of readers that will seek out new reading adventures? Surely that would be magic for Canadian publishers…

James Adams: Hello, Sasha: Well, as you've probably noticed, newspapers have been running stories in the last few days about the legacy of Harry Potter and whether, in fact, it has seeded a new generation of readers. I can only speak for my oldest son, who is 14: he's been reading since he was 3 but more than anything it was the Potter books that galvanized his interst in chapter books. He's read the six previous books as they've come out and since then he's taken on the Lemony Snicket series, the Philip Pullman series, books by Clive Barker, Cordelia Funk etc. etc.

It seems unlikely there will be another Potter in publishing history. I guess the hope is that as the first generation of Potter readers are getting older, their tastes will become more catholic and they'll more into other reading realms.

Christine Diemert, of Toronto asks: How did Harry Potter become so big? Is the story really that good, or did it get promoted so well it was believed to be good? I assume there are other authors out there trying to be the next J. K. Rowling, will he or she get any support from publishers, or will they be too busy trying to get Rowling to write something else they can push?

James Adams: Christine: Boy, the mystery of Potter's success or its magnitude will likely always be, well, a mystery. Sure, they're well-written narratives with clever twists and arresting characters and an absorbing alternate universe - but who, finally, can explain why they've sold to date more than 325-million copies world-wide? It's kinda like Beatlemania: yes, there's quality involved but people also, I think, like to be part of a larger phenomenon, a shared, collective experience.

Of course, publishers will be on the look out for another Rowling. But it seems unlikely that even Rowling herself will be able to match the success of Potter. Moreover, it's unlikely Potter wannabes are going to match her success by cloning or impersonating what she's done already. I really do hope this is the end of the Potter series; better, I think, to end on a high note with everyone excited than to "betray" all that by staying too long on the scene or putting out inferior product a la George Lucas and the last three Star Wars movies.

Sasha Nagy writes: Do you foresee this series maintaining a level of sales from one generation to the next, like Tolkien or C.S. Lewis titles have? Will this be something that Raincoast can budget for?

James Adams: Well, this is the $64,000 or $6,400,000 question, isn't it? My guess is that the Potters will stay in print for a very long time much like the Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes titles have stayed in print. I think there needs to be a sort of calming down period to see how they'll endure. I mean, the launch of the last four or so Potters has been more like the launch of a big movie where, you know, 60 or 70 per cent of what turns out to be the total box-office is scored in the first two weeks the book/movie is out.

I really don't know how much Raincaost is budgeting for the long haul or even if they have rights in perpetuity to the Potter backlist. They've certainly budgeted for the short-haul and indeed expect to have sold at least 55 per cent of the new title in Canada within the first 48 hours of them going on sale.

Christine Diemert, of Toronto asks: I understand there was a recent study in the U.S. suggesting one of the reasons young adults are not reading is they have no idea how to find books that are interesting. Where would young people (or their parents) go to find out about new books? Is getting that information to the public the responsibility of the publishers (through reviews, press releases, blogs, etc)? Has the big box book retailer made it impossible for readers to have any personal interactions with people in book stores who actually read the books and can recommend new titles?

James Adams: Christine: You're definitely going to get more info on good children's and YA (Young Adult) titles from booksellers in stores either dedicated to those books or that are not so big boxy.

At the same time, it's long been known that it's hard to get kids in that 14-17 age range either reading or to keep reading. On the one hand, they like to think they're too sophisticated for a lot of the fare supposedly directed their way; on the other, they're not exactly proficient at navigating the world of adult literature. Moreover, there's Game Boy, Wi, Game Cube, MSN, TV etc. competing for these readers time, money and attention . . .

I actually think part of Potter's success has to do with the fact that it did kinda tap into the Dungeons & Dragons/E-game phenomenon in a kind of literate, bookish way.

Sasha Nagy writes: James: What do you see J.K. Rowling doing next? Somehow I can't quite see her tackling another genre, or needing to for that matter? Are you aware of any of Rowling's stated plans for her post-Potter career?

James Adams: Well, if Jo Rowling - remember its pronounced Rolling not ROW!-ling - is smart - and there's no doubt she is - she'll probably realize lightning can't strike twice. She'll realize her good fortune and understand that it's best to leave an audience wanting more rather than thinking, "Oh, not her again."

She indicated recently that "you can't never say never" but my guess is that the Potter saga ends next weekend, and by ending it, she'll keep the magic alive.

That said, she'll likely continue to write in the fantasy realm. I'm sure in the course of writing the Potters she came up with a whole lot of non-Potter ideas and fruitful areas for exploration.

Sasha Nagy: James, thanks for your time. As a final question, I am wondering what you think of the effect that the movie openings, and the attention the actors get, has on the literary franchise. My daughter watched all the movies ahead of the latest movie, and then started re-reading all the books ahead of the final book. She said that it bothered her that she could only envision Harry Potter as Daniel Radcliffe, when he was such a poor actor in those early films. It hurt her reading experience. I realize this is nothing new, just wondering if you think this will hurt how the final book is appreciated by readers….

James Adams: Well, if the Potter books endure - say, like the C.S. Lewis titles or Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan or Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes - readers will develop their own imagistic impressions of their characters and their adventures. They've certainly done so with respect to Holmes and Tarzan, both of whom have been brought to screen and television by dozens of actors in the last 80-100 years.

Granted, I can understand how current readers might feel their minds are being colonized by the impressions wrought by the movies, and the action figures and all the other marketing paraphernalia associated with each release of the film. Indeed, by releasing the fifth Potter so close to the release of the last book, there's bound to be some cross-over. Which is unfortunate, at least as far as the pure reading experience is concerned. Of course, Warner Bros., the people behind the films, won't think it unfortunate. I do like the fact that Rowling has tried to keep the books pure, by not getting them jacketed with cover images pulled from the movies.