Excited muggles, witches and wizards have queued outside bookstores around the country for hours in anticipation for the launch of the long-awaited eighth instalment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

A script rather than a narrative novel, the book is set 19 years after the seventh novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – which came out back in 2007.

The script is written by Jack Thorne, from an original story JK Rowling helped develop, and its release on Sunday coincides with the gala opening of the play in London’s West End theatre district.

The book’s release also falls on the birthday of The Boy Who Lived – July 31.

The play and book feature the grown-up Potter as an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic and father of three children, who is grappling with his past.

In the queue at the Sydney Dymocks store was nine-year-old Lauren Hirst and her younger brother Daniel.

Like many other young people Lauren had read every other book in the series so far.

“I’ve read all the books and watched all the movies,” she said.

“I’m really excited to get the book and to know what happens so I’m probably going to be staying up really late tonight reading.”

https://twitter.com/cursedchildx/status/759529466850713600

Her mother, Melanie Hirst, started reading the books at 14 and said, like the character of Harry Potter in the latest book, she too is now an adult with children of her own.

“It’s fantastic. I brought them along today because Lauren was only five months old when the last book was released and I wanted them to experience the excitement of the book launch,” she said.

“I just wanted them to experience the next chapter.”

The Hirst family are all excited about reading the new Harry Potter book. Photo: ABC

‘The magic of Harry Potter is once again upon us’

Dymocks managing director Steve Cox said demand for the book had been “unlike any others” since the launch of the last Harry Potter book “all those years ago”.

Dymocks pre-sold 15,000 books before Sunday’s launch and were expecting enormous sales over the coming days.

There was a global embargo on the book, which broke at midnight London time, and meant the staff at Mr Cox’s store had to wait until 9:01am before they could open the boxes.

https://twitter.com/CaitlinMillard/status/759536082065104896

“It was a strict worldwide embargo that everyone around the world stuck by and it raised the excitement for 9:01 this morning,” he said.

“Right around the world at this point in time boxes of books just like the ones we had here are being opened and the magic of Harry Potter is once again upon us.”

Mr Cox did not think the fact that the book was a script and not a novel would detract from its appeal.

All I can say is wow. @jk_rowling thankyou for taking me back to my childhood. ✨ #HPScriptBook #CursedChild pic.twitter.com/YQOCVtgiI0

— aimee 💀 (@aimzleigh_x) July 31, 2016

“This is Harry 19 years later; he’s working at the Ministry of Magic and he’s got children of his own,” he said.

“His oldest child, Albus, is just about to go to Hogwarts himself and it’s the story of Harry not quite escaping the past, but we’ll all have to read it to see what happens.”

The release of Harry Potter was a huge success! #cursedchild #hpscriptbook @HachetteAus pic.twitter.com/cugXB5wiZZ

— The Dust Jacket (@TDJ_Books) July 31, 2016

-ABC