 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999 . It immediately took first place in UK best @-@ seller lists , displacing popular authors such as John Grisham , Tom Clancy , and Terry Pratchett , and making Rowling the first author to win the British Book Awards Children 's Book of the Year for two years in succession . In June 1999 , it went straight to the top of three US best @-@ seller lists , including The New York Times ' . 
