J.K. Rowling releasing new Harry Potter book…kinda

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a new play about the boy wizard’s later life, will be released in book form, with J.K. Rowling’s name on the cover.

On July 31, the public will get a chance to read a new Harry Potter book for the first time in nine years…sorta. Some of you may have heard about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a stage play currently in production that will follow the lives of Harry, Hermione, and Ron 19 years after they defeated Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The play, which is debuting in London, was written by playwright Jack Thorne, based on a story by J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany. Now, Publishers Weekly reports that the script for the play will be released in book form. Rowling’s name will be on the cover, along with Thorne’s and Tiffany’s.

So…we’re not so much getting a new Harry Potter book by J.K. Rowling as we are the script for a new Harry Potter play based on an idea Rowling had. Many in the Harry Potter fandom, including the fine folks over at Wizards and Whatnot, are excited about this, but let’s put things in perspective. It sounds like The Blair Partnership, J.K. Rowling’s literary and brand management agency, is trying to cash in on something that isn’t really a Harry Potter book by calling it a Harry Potter book. I have no doubt it will work—fans have been clamoring for a new Harry Potter book since Deathly Hallows—but this isn’t the most honorable thing the publishing industry has ever done.

Then again, the book will allow people who can’t get to London to see the stage play to experience the story, and I have no doubt that, as The Blair Partnership said in a statement, that there was “massive public demand” for a book. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will also be released in e-book format.

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The real question is: when will J.K. Rowling write another proper Harry Potter book? Years ago, Rowling said she would never write another story about the character, but she’s broken that rule. I think we’ll see a new Harry Potter novel before too long.