Author: Ross Fraser

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28 February 2022

Watch the second trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is a spellbinding adventure delivering the magic and excitement of the wizarding world that has been enchanting movie audiences around the globe for 20 years.

Professor Albus Dumbledore knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald is moving to seize control of the wizarding world.  Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers.  But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?

You can watch the latest trailer here:

The film releases in the UK on 8 April and 15 April in the US. Following this, the screenplay of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore will be published in the English language by Little, Brown (U.K.), Scholastic (U.S.) and Pottermore Publishing (ebook) on 19 July 2022. More languages will follow on that date.

Visit WizardingWorld.com for all the latest news and updates about Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

 

 

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7 February 2022

First look at new documentary Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History, coming soon to BBC

© BBC Studios

Stephen Fry, who famously narrated the UK Harry Potter audiobooks, will embark on a fantastical journey across the world in this upcoming BBC One special, entitled Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History.

In a unique collaboration with the BBC Natural History Unit, the Natural History Museum (which has now finished its exhibition, Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature) and Warner Bros., this documentary will unfurl all sorts of mysteries around fantastic beasts and real-life creatures across history that you may not believe could possibly exist.

Along the way, Stephen will chat to J.K. Rowling, to discuss the inspirations behind the creatures we meet in Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts, while also meeting with visual effects supervisor Christian Manz, who has lent his talents to several Wizarding World movies, bringing countless magical creations to life.

Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History, will feature on BBC One, iPlayer and international broadcasters very soon.

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14 December 2021

WB release trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

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9 December 2021

Cursed Child returns reimagined to Broadway and opens in Hamburg

Following the successful re-openings of Melbourne and London, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has returned triumphant to the Lyric theatre New York in its new reimagined format, while in Hamburg, Harry Potter und das verwunschene Kind celebrated its German-language two-part premiere last Sunday.

The Broadway production, which has been boldly reimagined for its big comeback, opened to great critical acclaim, with the New York Times proclaiming it ‘Streamlined and still magical…this new version remains ravishingly entertaining’ and Broadway News calling it ‘A theatrical accomplishment of a very rare order.’  Theatremania wrote of the newly-staged, singular performance: ‘The show delivers spectacularly. Jamie Harrison’s illusions regularly receive showstopping applause, the kind which might make the actors jealous were it not for the fact that their performances are integral to making the magic seem real. If you suspend your disbelief just a little bit (it’s not hard considering the level of artistry at work) you’ll feel like a kid again, witnessing incredible wonders onstage.’

Potter fans also welcomed the one-part version, with Leaky Cauldron declaring: ‘the joy and inspiration hold true.…the Cursed Child team (cast, creative, and crew) has completely given their hearts to re-mounting something still bewitching to behold. The magic feels as fresh as it did on its original opening day, April 22, 2018, and the play itself commands both stunned awe and breathless reverence from an audience of 1500+ theatergoers.’

Meanwhile in Germany, the long-awaited opening of the original version at the newly refurbished Mehr! Theatre am Großmarkt in Hamburg –  the first non-English language production of the eighth story in the world – received an equally rapturous reception. Broadway World declared:‘HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD is a modern theatrical masterpiece. The art of making theatre reinvented. It gives you shivers down your spine, laughter, and also some tears.’

The two-part original will also be reimagined as a singular performance for theatres in San Francisco, Toronto and Tokyo in 2022, with Melbourne adopting this version in May 2022.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is now playing in London, New York, Melbourne and Hamburg.  For further details about all productions and all the latest news go to the website here.

 

 

 

 

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12 October 2021

The Christmas Pig is here!

The wait is over! J.K. Rowling’s new children’s book The Christmas Pig is out today.

Her first children’s novel since Harry Potter, The Christmas Pig, illustrated by Jim Field, is the story of a little boy called Jack, and his beloved toy, Dur Pig, and the toy that replaces Dur Pig when he’s lost on Christmas Eve – the Christmas Pig. Together, Jack and the Christmas Pig embark on a magical journey to seek something lost, and to save the best friend Jack has ever known.

Already hailed as ‘a triumph… her best book since Azkaban’ (Evening Standard) and ‘this wonderful new story from a writer who truly understands what it is to be a child’ (Daily Mail), the book is published by Hachette Children’s Group in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and India, in the US and Canada by Scholastic, and in thirty-five translated languages by other publishers making it a truly global publication.

The English language audiobook is narrated by Amaka Okafor, with Rocco Padden as Jack, Gerran Howell as the Christmas Pig, alongside a full cast and immersive audio experience bringing the characters of this heartwarming adventure about one child’s love for his most treasured thing to life.

The audiobook by Audible is available in English, German, French, Italian, Latin American Spanish, Castilian Spanish, and Japanese.

To celebrate the launch of her new book, J.K. Rowling will be joined by illustrator Jim Field, and Rocco Padden, the voice of hero Jack, at a special family event at Alexandra Palace in London. A recording of the live event will be available to view on jkrowlingstories.com on Sunday 17 October from 10am BST, for all to enjoy.

J.K. Rowling has written a piece for the Sunday Times about the inspiration for the book, and was on BBC Radio 2’s Claudia Winkleman show on Saturday 9th October talking about the book – you can listen again here.

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29 June 2021

Cover for The Christmas Pig Revealed

The cover design for J.K. Rowling’s new book for children, The Christmas Pig, has been revealed! Award-winning illustrator, character-designer and animation director Jim Field has produced a stunning illustration for the cover as well as nine black and white spreads and design features for the interior of the book.

J.K. Rowling commented: ‘Jim’s illustrations are simply perfect. It really is as though he got inside my head and drew what he saw there! I gasped out loud when I saw one particular illustration (I can’t say which it is without giving spoilers), because it was such a perfect representation of one of my favourite scenes.’

Jim Field said: ‘It was ever so slightly daunting when I thought about the number of people who are going to see this cover around the world… No pressure, Jim! Brilliantly, we all agreed on the cover design from the outset, so that allowed me plenty of time to get all the little details right. I wanted to create something filmic, timeless, that captures the excitement of J.K. Rowling’s incredible story and the wonder of Christmas, where the adventure begins. It is really a dream project and I’m so chuffed to be part of it.’

The Christmas Pig will be simultaneously published on 12th October 2021 in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and India by Hachette Children’s Group, in the US and Canada by Scholastic, and in thirty-five translated languages by other publishers making it a truly global publication.  It will also be simultaneously published as an audiobook by Audible in English, German, French, Italian, Latin American Spanish, Castilian Spanish, and Japanese.  Jim Field’s illustrations will feature on the covers of all editions.

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12 April 2021

Introducing J.K. Rowling’s Stories

Coming soon a new interactive section on J.K. Rowing’s website for younger readers to discover and explore the different imaginary worlds of her children’s fiction.

On J.K. Rowling’s Stories, visitors will first arrive at a writing desk that includes meaningful, personal items reflecting the author’s writing life.  Children will be able to dive into the magic of Harry Potter’s wizarding world, embark on an adventure with new character the Christmas Pig, or come face to face with the mythical Ickabog – at the same time as getting to know the author a little bit better.

In addition, The Ickabog social media channels will be rebranded to J.K. Rowling Stories so if you didn’t follow them before, check out the Facebook and Twitter pages as well as the newly launched Instagram for the latest on  J.K. Rowling’s children’s stories.

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11 January 2021

J.K. Rowling continues open licence for teachers in response to the latest school closures

Teachers can continue to post videos of themselves reading aloud from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, as well as her original fairy tale The Ickabog, to their students currently prevented from attending school again following the latest lockdown restrictions across the United Kingdom. This follows J.K. Rowling and her agents The Blair Partnership relaxing the usual copyright permissions required.

Teachers anywhere in the world who are having to teach remotely are permitted to post videos of themselves reading from Harry Potter books 1-7 and The Ickabog onto schools’ secure networks or closed educational platforms from today until 31st March 2021, at which point it will be reviewed.  A full set of Guidelines for Teachers are downloadable here for The Ickabog and Harry Potter books 1-7.

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10 November 2020

Meet The Ickabog!

J.K. Rowling’s fairy tale The Ickabog is published today as a hardback, e-book and audiobook.  The beautiful new gift hardback edition is brought to life with full-colour illustrations by the young winners of The Ickabog illustration competitions around the world, which will also be available to purchasers of the audiobook as a full-colour PDF.  The audiobook is performed by Stephen Fry and published by Audible.  The book is now available in English, Italian, German, Spanish. Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian, Dutch,  Simplified Chinese and Russian with more translations to follow.

J.K. Rowling is donating her net royalties from The Ickabog to help support vulnerable groups who’ve been particularly impacted by Covid-19, in the UK and internationally. She is making an initial donation to her charitable Trust, The Volant Charitable Trust, to help medical and frontline charities make a meaningful impact in the short term.

For more information about The Ickabog go to www.theickabog.com.

 

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6 October 2020

Quidditch Through The Ages Illustrated Edition published today

The Hogwarts Library book Quidditch Through The Ages, written by J.K. Rowling as esteemed fictional Quidditch expert Kennilworthy Whisp, has been reimagined by award-winning illustrator Emily Gravett. This colourful new edition is published today in Hardback and Deluxe editions by Bloomsbury in the UK and Scholastic in the US.

The book, arguably the most famous sports guide in the wizarding world, contains all you need to know about the history, the teams, the rules – and the breaking of the rules – of the noble sport of Quidditch.

Tasked with illustrating the fictional history of this magical sport, Emily Gravett’s wildly creative imagination conjured up a cornucopia of sporting memorabilia to surprise and delight. With items and events lovingly created in a dazzling range of media, and infused with the illustrator’s trademark visual wit, these charming and funny artworks are the perfect pairing for J.K. Rowling’s insights into the magical, airborne sport.

Proceeds from the sale of this new edition will go to J.K. Rowling’s own international children’s charity Lumos, which helps some of the world’s most vulnerable children and young people to have a better life, and Comic Relief.

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21 July 2020

The Ickabog to be published this autumn

J.K. Rowling’s The Ickabog, an original fairy tale, is to be published as a hardback, ebook and audio book in the English language in November, with international editions to follow soon after.

First serialised for free online this summer on The Ickabog.com, the author wanted to share the personal family favourite, which she wrote over ten years ago as a bedtime story for her younger children, to help entertain children, parents and carers confined at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keen for children to be involved as the story unfolded, J.K. Rowling invited them to send in their own illustrations of her story and its colourful characters as it appeared online.  After an incredible response, the winners of each artwork competition will see their illustration in the published book.

J.K. Rowling will be donating her royalties from The Ickabog to The Volant Charitable Trust to assist those who have been particularly impacted by coronavirus.

For more details including the donation of royalties to The Volant Trust visit https://www.theickabog.com/the-story/