Harry Potter publisher prints early to save Christmas

The publisher of Harry Potter books has been printing titles much earlier than usual this year to sidestep supply snags ahead of what it expects will be a "booming" Christmas.

Bloomsbury Publishing said on Wednesday it was taking a range of steps to manage supply challenges such as lorry driver shortages and bottlenecks at ports that have affected many British companies.

"We have taken steps (to manage supply) by trying to get our books to printers earlier so that we have more time in the schedule and still achieve the same publication date," Chief Executive Nigel Newton said in an interview.