Borders Books & Music and Waldenbooks Stores To Celebrate New Harry Potter Book with ''Midnight Magic'' Parties; ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' on sale at 12:01 a.m. July 16.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With only one month remaining before the release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," Borders Books & Music(R) and Waldenbooks(R) stores across the nation are busy preparing to host over 400,000 expected fans at in-store "Midnight Magic" parties that will begin the evening of Friday, July 15 and continue until 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 16, the first moment the book is officially available for sale.

The "Midnight Magic" parties will treat Potter followers to fun-filled activities throughout the store, including face painting, mask-making, science experiments, magic crafts, and of course, all things Harry Potter. In addition, the stores will have freebies available at many of the activity stations.

Borders will sell the 672-page book at 40% off of the publisher's list price of $29.99 for customers who reserve copies. A collector's edition will also be available at 40% off of the publisher's list price of $60.00 for reserved copies, as will the unabridged audio CD and cassette versions of the book, read by acclaimed Potter narrator Jim Dale.

"Back in 2003, the fifth Harry Potter book, 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,' broke all first-day sales records with approximately 750,000 copies sold through our Borders Books & Music and Waldenbooks stores in the U.S.," said Michael Spinozzi, executive vice president and chief product officer for Borders Group. "To celebrate the release of the sixth Harry Potter title, not only are our stores hosting fans for our 'Midnight Magic' parties, but with the savings we are offering, we believe we have the right combination of fun and value."

For more information on the Harry Potter events, call your local Borders or Waldenbooks store. To locate the nearest Borders, visit www.bordersstores.com. To locate the nearest Waldenbooks, visit www.waldenbooksstores.com.

About Borders Group

Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE:BGP) is a leading global retailer of books, music and movies with annual revenues of $3.9 billion. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., the company employs approximately 32,000 people worldwide. Borders Group operates more than 460 Borders superstores and approximately 650 Waldenbooks stores throughout the U.S. In addition, the company operates 46 Borders superstores outside the U.S., as well as 35 Books etc. stores located throughout Great Britain. Borders Group has also acquired Paperchase Products Limited, a leading stationery retailer based in London, England with more than 70 locations in the U.K. Teamed with Amazon.com, online shopping is available through Borders.com (www.borders.com) and Waldenbooks.com (www.waldenbooks.com). More detailed information on the company is available at www.bordersgroupinc.com. Information regarding Borders store locations, in-store events and title reservation is available through www.bordersstores.com.