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J.K. Rowling releases first children's book outside of the Harry Potter series, 'The Ickabog'

Photo credit: Samir Hussein - Getty Images
Photo credit: Samir Hussein - Getty Images

From Good Housekeeping

Author J.K. Rowling has unveiled a new book - the first children's title set away from the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Rowling took to Twitter to announce the new story on Tuesday (26 May), explaining it was written over a decade ago to entertain her young children.

"Over 10 years ago, I wrote a stand-alone fairy tale called The Ickabog," she began

"I always meant to publish it, but after the last Potter was released I wrote two novels for adults and, after some dithering, decided to put those out next. Until very recently, the only people who’d heard the story of The Ickabog were my two younger children.

"Over time I came to think of The Ickabog as just for my family. The manuscript went up into the attic, where it remained until a few weeks ago."

Rowling went on to explain that with the encouragement of her now teenage children, she reclaimed the story from her attic, which was scribbled on sheets on paper and placed in a box.

"Opening the box was like opening a time capsule. Most of the story was handwritten, but bits had been typed up. When I put it into some kind of order (I'm not renowned for my filing skills) I had a patchwork first draft.

"Anyway, over the last few weeks I’ve done a bit of rewriting and I’ve decided to publish the Ickabog for free online, so children on lockdown, or even those back at school during these strange, unsettling times, can read it or have it read to them.

"We’ll be publishing a chapter (or 2 or 3) every weekday, starting at 3.00pm today (26 May) and ending on 10 July. You don’t need to register to access the story. You can read it for free on a new website."

You can read The Ickabog HERE.

The first two chapters already released have introduced King Fred the Fearless, ruler of Cornucopia, and five-year-old Bert Beamish.

The story has told of the myth of a fearsome monster called The Ickabog which is "said to eat children and sheep".

Rowling has invited young readers to enter their drawings of The Ickabog's characters into an online competition. The winning entries will be featured in the book when it's published traditionally later this year. Find out more about the competition HERE.

While Rowling has suggested The Ickabog is perfect for children between the ages of seven and nine to read themselves, she's also treating adult fans to a new story.

She revealed on Twitter she will be publishing a new Cormoran Strike book (part of the series she pens under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith) in September.

Happy reading!


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Photo credit: Hearst Owned
Photo credit: Hearst Owned


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