Writing Archive - J.K. Rowling

When mysterious letters start arriving on his doorstep, Harry Potter has never heard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

They are swiftly confiscated by his aunt and uncle.

Then, on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a strange man bursts in with some important news: Harry Potter is a wizard and has been awarded a place to study at Hogwarts.

And so the first of the Harry Potter adventures is set to begin.

Publishers:
UK Print – Bloomsbury
US Print – Scholastic
eBook – Pottermore
Digital Audiobook – Pottermore
UK Illustrated – Bloomsbury
US Illustrated – Scholastic
UK MinaLima edition – Bloomsbury
US MinaLima edition – Scholastic

Throughout the summer holidays after his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter has been receiving sinister warnings from a house-elf called Dobby.

Now, back at school to start his second year, Harry hears unintelligible whispers echoing through the corridors.

Before long the attacks begin: students are found as if turned to stone.

Dobby’s predictions seem to be coming true.

For Harry Potter, it’s the start of another far-from-ordinary year at Hogwarts when the Knight Bus crashes through the darkness and comes to an abrupt halt in front of him.

It turns out that Sirius Black, mass-murderer and follower of Lord Voldemort, has escaped – and they say he is coming after Harry.

In his first Divination class, Professor Trelawney sees an omen of death in Harry’s tea leaves.

And perhaps most frightening of all are the Dementors patrolling the school grounds with their soul-sucking kiss – in search of fresh victims.

Publishers:
UK Print – Bloomsbury
US Print – Scholastic
eBook – Pottermore
Digital Audiobook – Pottermore
UK Illustrated – Bloomsbury
US Illustrated – Scholastic

UK MinaLima edition – Bloomsbury
US MinaLima edition – Scholastic

The rules of the Triwizard Tournament, which is about to take place at Hogwarts, only allow wizards over the age of seventeen to enter.

So Harry can only daydream about winning.

Then, to his surprise, on Hallowe’en when the Goblet of Fire makes its selection, his name is picked out of the magical cup.

Harry will face life-endangering tasks, dragons and Dark wizards.

He’ll have to rely on the help of his friends if he is to make it through the contest alive.

Publishers:
UK Print – Bloomsbury
US Print – Scholastic
Ebook – Pottermore
Digital Audiobook – Pottermore
UK Illustrated – Bloomsbury
US Illustrated – Scholastic

After the Dementors’ attack on his cousin Dudley, Harry knows he is about to become Voldemort’s next target.

Although many are denying the Dark Lord’s return, Harry is not alone, and a secret order is gathering at Grimmauld Place to fight against the Dark forces.

Meanwhile, Voldemort’s savage assaults on Harry’s mind are growing stronger every day.

He must allow Professor Snape to teach him to protect himself before he runs out of time.

Publishers:
UK Print – Bloomsbury
US Print – Scholastic
Ebook – Pottermore
Digital Audiobook – Pottermore

One summer night, when Dumbledore arrives at Privet Drive to collect Harry Potter, his wand hand is blackened and shrivelled, but he will not reveal why.

Rumours and suspicion spread through the wizarding world – it feels as if even Hogwarts itself might be under threat.

Harry is convinced that Malfoy bears the Dark Mark: could there be a Death Eater amongst them?

He will need powerful magic and true friends as, with the help of Dumbledore, he investigates Voldemort’s darkest secrets.

Publishers:
UK Print – Bloomsbury
US Print – Scholastic
Ebook – Pottermore
Digital Audiobook – Pottermore

Harry Potter is leaving Privet Drive for the last time. But as he climbs into the sidecar of Hagrid’s motorbike and they take to the skies, he knows Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters will not be far behind.

The protective charm that has kept him safe until now is broken. But the Dark Lord is breathing fear into everything he loves. And he knows he can’t keep hiding.

To stop Voldemort, Harry knows he must find the remaining Horcruxes and destroy them.

He will have to face his enemy in one final battle.

Publishers:
UK Print – Bloomsbury
US Print – Scholastic
EBook – Pottermore
Digital Audiobook – Pottermore

Hogwarts Library Book

An approved textbook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since publication, Newt Scamander’s masterpiece has entertained wizarding families through the generations. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them is an indispensable introduction to the magical beasts of the wizarding world.

Scamander’s years of travel and research have created a tome of unparalleled importance. Some of the beasts will be familiar to readers of the Harry Potter books – the Hippogriff, the Basilisk, the Hungarian Horntail … Others will surprise even the most ardent amateur magizoologist. Dip in to discover the curious habits of magical beasts across five continents.

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them first appeared as the title of one of Harry Potter’s school books within the novels. It was published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books and Scholastic along with Quidditch Through The Ages in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. A new edition, with new foreword and content by J.K. Rowling, was published in March 2017.

Publishers:
UK Print – Bloomsbury
US Print – Scholastic
eBook – Pottermore
Digital Audiobook – Pottermore
UK Illustrated – Bloomsbury
US Illustrated – Scholastic

A perennial bestseller in the wizarding world and one of the most popular books in the Hogwarts School library, Quidditch Through the Ages contains all you will ever need to know about the history, the rules – and the breaking of the rules – of the noble sport of Quidditch. Packed with fascinating facts, this definitive guide by the esteemed Quidditch writer Kennilworthy Whisp charts the game’s history from its early origins in the medieval mists on Queerditch Marsh, through to the modern-day sport loved by so many wizard and Muggle families around the world. With comprehensive coverage of famous Quidditch teams, the commonest fouls, the development of racing brooms, and much, much more.

Quidditch Through The Ages first appeared as the title of one of Harry Potter’s school books within the novels. It was published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books and Scholastic along with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief.

Publishers:
UK Print – Bloomsbury
US Print – Scholastic
Ebook – Pottermore
Digital Audiobook – Pottermore
UK Illustrated – Bloomsbury
US Illustrated – Scholastic

The Tales of Beedle the Bard have been favourite bedtime reading in wizarding households for centuries. Full of magic and trickery, these classic tales both entertain and instruct, and remain as captivating to young wizards today as they were when Beedle first put quill to parchment in the fifteenth century. There are five tales in all: ‘The Tale of the Three Brothers‘ Harry Potter fans will know from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; ‘The Fountain of Fair Fortune‘, ‘The Warlock’s Hairy Heart‘, ‘The Wizard and the Hopping Pot‘ and ‘Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump‘ complete the collection. These narrative gems are accompanied by explanatory notes by Professor Albus Dumbledore (included by kind permission of the Hogwarts Headmaster’s archive). His illuminating thoughts reveal the stories to be much more than just simple moral tales.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard was published in 2008 and is sold in aid of J.K. Rowling’s international children’s charity, Lumos.

Publishers:
UK Print – Bloomsbury
US Print – Scholastic
eBook – Pottermore
Digital Audiobook – Pottermore
UK Illustrated – Bloomsbury
US Illustrated – Scholastic

Being Harry Potter has never been easy. And it isn’t much easier now, as we catch up with him nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts.

These days, Harry is a husband, father of three school-age children, and an overworked employee at the Ministry of Magic.

While he struggles with a personal history that refuses to stay in the past, his youngest son Albus must grapple with the weight of the family legacy he never asked for.

As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, the play was scripted by Jack and directed by John.

It received its world premiere in London’s West End on 30 July 2016.

Publishers:
UK Print – Little, Brown
US Print – Scholastic
eBook – Pottermore

The Original Screenplay

With his magical suitcase in hand, Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York in 1926 for a brief stopover.

However, when the suitcase is misplaced and some of his fantastic beasts escape, there will be trouble for everyone.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an epic, adventure-packed screenplay with a gripping narrative and a huge cast of characters.

The film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them received its theatrical release in November 2016 marking J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting debut.

Publishers:

UK Print – Little, Brown
US Print – Scholastic
eBook – Pottermore

The Original Screenplay

The powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured in New York with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escapes custody and sets about gathering followers, most of whom are unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings..

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore enlists Newt, his former Hogwarts student, who agrees to help once again, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world..

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second screenplay in a five-film series to be written by J.K. Rowling, author of the internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Set in 1927, a few months after the events of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and moving from New York to London, Paris and even back to Hogwarts, this story of mystery and magic reveals an extraordinary new chapter in the wizarding world.

Publishers:

UK Print – Little, Brown
US Print – Scholastic
eBook – Pottermore

The Complete Screenplay

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?

The official screenplay of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the ultimate companion to the film, and invites readers to explore every scene of the complete script penned by J.K. Rowling & Steve Kloves. Special features include behind-the-scenes content and commentary from David Yates, David Heyman, Jude Law, Eddie Redmayne, Colleen Atwood and more.

Publishers:

UK Print – Little, Brown
US Print – Scholastic
eBook – Pottermore

When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is in shock. Seemingly an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with parents, wives at war with husbands, teachers at war with pupils…Pagford is not what it seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy was  J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults. It was published by Little, Brown in 2012, and was adapted for BBC and HBO television in 2015.

Publishers:
UK Print & eBook – Little, Brown
US Print & eBook – Little, Brown

Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, is J.K. Rowling’s deeply affecting, celebrated 2008 Harvard commencement speech, published in book form. In her speech, J.K. Rowling asks the profound and provocative questions: How can we embrace failure? And how can we use our imagination to better both ourselves and others? Drawing from stories of her own post-graduate years, she addresses some of life’s most important issues with acuity and emotional force. As well as contributing towards university-wide financial aid at Harvard University, sales of Very Good Lives directly benefit Lumos, the non-profit international children’s organisation founded by J.K. Rowling, which works to end the institutionalisation of children around the world.

Very Good Lives, J.K. Rowling’s Harvard Commencement speech, was published in April 2015 by Little, Brown and Company, with new illustrations by Joel Holland.

Publishers’ links:
UK Print & eBook – Little, Brown
US Print & eBook – Little, Brown

The Ickabog is coming… A mythical monster, a kingdom in peril, an adventure that will test two children’s bravery to the limit. Discover a brilliantly original fairy tale about the power of hope and friendship to triumph against all odds, from one of the world’s best storytellers.

The kingdom of Cornucopia was once the happiest in the world. It had plenty of gold, a king with the finest moustaches you could possibly imagine, and butchers, bakers and cheesemongers whose exquisite foods made a person dance with delight when they ate them.

Everything was perfect – except for the misty Marshlands to the north which, according to legend, were home to the monstrous Ickabog. Anyone sensible knew that the Ickabog was just a myth, to scare children into behaving. But the funny thing about myths is that sometimes they take on a life of their own.

Could a myth unseat a beloved king? Could a myth bring a once happy country to its knees? Could a myth thrust two children into an adventure they didn’t ask for and never expected?

If you’re feeling brave, step into the pages of this book to find out…

More about the The Ickabog can be found here – theickabog.com

Publishers:
UK print – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
US print – Scholastic
UK eBook – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
US eBook – Scholastic
Digital Audiobook UK – Audible
Digital Audiobook US – Audible

Jack loves his childhood toy, Dur Pig. DP has always been there for him, through good and bad. Until one Christmas Eve, something terrible happens – DP is lost. But Christmas Eve is a night for miracles and lost causes, a night when all things can come to life… even toys. And Jack’s newest toy – the Christmas Pig (DP’s annoying replacement) – has a daring plan: Together they’ll embark on a magical journey to seek something lost, and to save the best friend Jack has ever known…

A heartwarming, page-turning adventure about one child’s love for his most treasured thing, and how far he will go to find it. A tale for the whole family to fall in love with, from one of the world’s greatest storytellers.

A gorgeously gifty hardback, with full-colour jacket and featuring 9 black and white spreads and decorative inside art from renowned illustrator, Jim Field.

To find out more, go to JKR Stories.

Publishers:
UK print – Hachette Children’s Group
US print – Scholastic
UK eBook – Hachette Children’s Group
US eBook – Scholastic
Digital Audiobook UK – Audible
Digital Audiobook US – Audible

When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case.

Strike is a war veteran – wounded both physically and psychologically – and his life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model’s complex world, the darker things get – and the closer he gets to terrible danger…

The Cuckoo’s Calling is steeped in the atmosphere of London – from the hushed streets of Mayfair to the backstreet pubs of the East End and the bustle of Soho.

The first book in the Cormoran Strike series, The Cuckoo’s Calling, was published in April 2013 by Sphere/Little, Brown Book Group. It was an international number one bestseller, attracting praise from critics and crime fans alike. Author royalties are donated to The Soldier’s Charity.

Publishers:
UK Print & eBook – Little, Brown
US Print & eBook – Little, Brown

Novelist Owen Quine has gone missing. His wife, Leonora, calls in private detective Cormoran Strike and his determined young assistant Robin Ellacott to help find him and bring him home..

At first, Leonora just thinks he has gone off by himself for a few days. But it soon becomes clear that there is more to Quine’s disappearance than she had realised. The novelist had just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were published it would ruin lives – so there are a lot of people who might want to silence him.

And when Quine is found brutally murdered in bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer…

The second book in the Cormoran Strike series, The Silkworm, was published in June 2014 by Sphere/Little, Brown Book Group and topped the bestseller charts.

Publishers:
UK Print & eBook – Little, Brown
US Print & eBook – Little, Brown

On opening the mysterious package she has just received, Robin Ellacott is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.

Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

The third book in the highly acclaimed Cormoran Strike series, The Career of Evil, was published in June 2014 by Sphere/Little, Brown Book Group and was a number one bestseller.

Publishers:
UK Print & eBook – Little, Brown
US Print & ebook – Little, Brown

When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike’s office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled. While Billy is obviously mentally distressed, and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story. But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts from his office in a panic..

Trying to get to the bottom of Billy’s story, Strike and Robin Ellacott – once his assistant, now a partner in the agency – set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside..

And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike’s own life is far from straightforward: his newfound fame as a private eye means he can no longer operate behind the scenes as he once did. Plus, his relationship with his former assistant is more fraught than it ever has been – Robin is now invaluable to Strike in the business, but their personal relationship is much, much more tricky than that . . .

Publishers:
UK Print & eBook – Little, Brown
US Print & ebook – Little, Brown

Private Detective Cormoran Strike is visiting his family in Cornwall when he is approached by a woman asking for help finding her mother, Margot Bamborough – who went missing in mysterious circumstances in 1974.

Strike has never tackled a cold case before, let alone one forty years old. But despite the slim chance of success, he is intrigued and takes it on; adding to the long list of cases that he and his partner in the agency, Robin Ellacott, are currently working on. And Robin herself is also juggling a messy divorce and unwanted male attention, as well as battling her own feelings about Strike.

As Strike and Robin investigate Margot’s disappearance, they come up against a fiendishly complex case with leads that include tarot cards, a psychopathic serial killer and witnesses who cannot all be trusted. And they learn that even cases decades old can prove to be deadly . . .

Publishers:
UK Print and eBook – Little, Brown
US Print and eBook – Little, Brown

When frantic, dishevelled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn’t know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie’s true identity.

Robin decides that the agency can’t help with this—and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.

Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie’s true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits—and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways…

Publishers:
UK Print and eBook – Little, Brown
US Print and eBook – Little, Brown

Private Detective Cormoran Strike is contacted by a worried father whose son, Will, has gone to join a religious cult in the depths of the Norfolk countryside.

The Universal Humanitarian Church is, on the surface, a peaceable organisation that campaigns for a better world. Yet Strike discovers that beneath the surface there are deeply sinister undertones, and unexplained deaths.

In order to try to rescue Will, Strike’s business partner Robin Ellacott decides to infiltrate the cult and she travels to Norfolk to live incognito amongst them. But in doing so, she is unprepared for the dangers that await her there or for the toll it will take on her…

Publishers:
UK Print and eBook – Little, Brown
US Print and eBook – Little, Brown

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Archives: Writing

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

Quidditch Through the Ages

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

The Casual Vacancy

Very Good Lives

The Ickabog

The Christmas Pig

The Cuckoo’s Calling

The Silkworm

Career of Evil

Lethal White

Troubled Blood

The Ink Black Heart

The Running Grave