<P> The book was published in the United Kingdom on 8 July 1999 by Bloomsbury and in the United States on 8 September 1999 by Scholastic Inc . Rowling found the book easy to write, finishing it just a year after she had begun writing it . The book sold 68,000 copies in just three days after its release in the United Kingdom and since has sold over three million in the country . The book won the 1999 Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the 2000 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was short - listed for other awards, including the Hugo . </P> <P> The film adaptation of the novel was released in 2004, grossing more than $796 million and earning critical acclaim . Video games loosely based on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews . </P> <P> Harry is back at the Dursleys for the summer holidays, where he sees on Muggle television that a convict named Sirius Black has escaped, though with no mention of what facility he has broken out of . Harry involuntarily inflates Aunt Marge when she comes to visit after she insults Harry and his parents . This leads to his running away and being picked up by the Knight Bus . He travels to the Leaky Cauldron where he meets Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, who asks Harry to stay in Diagon Alley for the remaining three weeks before the start of the school year at Hogwarts . </P> <P> The night before he is expected to leave for Hogwarts, Harry learns from Arthur Weasley that Sirius Black is a convicted murderer in the wizarding world, and he warns Harry that it is believed Black will attempt to murder Harry next . On the way to Hogwarts a Dementor boards the train, causing Harry to faint . Following the incident, Harry is helped by the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Remus Lupin . Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn that the Dementors will be patrolling the school in an attempt to catch Black . </P>

Where does harry stay in prisoner of azkaban