The Free Press announced today that J.K. Rowling will appear in a new podcast series, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, hosted by writer and producer, Megan Phelps-Roper.

This wide-ranging audio documentary examines some of the most contentious conflicts of our time, and includes J.K. Rowling talking in depth about the controversies surrounding her, from book bans to debates on gender and sex.  The series also examines the forces propelling this moment in history, through interviews with Rowling’s supporters and critics, journalists, historians, clinicians, and more.

The series begins on Tuesday, 21 February 2023.

To see the trailer for the series, and for more information: thefp.com/witchtrials.

© 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.

J.K. Rowling will join Simon Armitage on his BBC Radio 4 programme, The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed on Saturday 24th July at 7.15pm.

In the shed, J.K. Rowling discusses the joys and the pains of writing with fellow author Simon Armitage, explaining how she picked up a pen to start again after the huge success of the Harry Potter series.

She also brings a very special ‘show and tell’ into the shed, giving Simon the chance to dip into her very first notebooks, never before shown publicly, in which she jotted down early ideas for the first Potter book, including the names of the pupils in Harry’s class.

 

 

 

I heard the news of Dick Robinson’s passing with shock and profound sadness. Dick was a wise, kind and humane man, who leaves behind him an extraordinary legacy in the world of children’s literature. He was an early champion of Harry Potter and a stalwart support to me through the twenty-four years we knew each other. My thoughts are with everyone at Scholastic, who I know will be reeling from this unexpected news, and above all with Dick’s family, to whom I send my deepest sympathy. I’m just one of thousands of children’s authors who were proud to be published by Dick Robinson, and I’ll miss him very much indeed.

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.

The special extended edition of BBC Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity featuring J.K. Rowling went out over Christmas and is available to listen again as a BBC Comedy of the Week podcast until 30th January 2020. Listen here.

J.K. Rowling was joined by music producer Glyn Johns, comedian Shazia Mirza, curator Bridget Christie and host John Lloyd on the panel of the award-winning radio show.  In this Christmas Special edition of the programme Jo reveals what she would donate to the imaginary museum, and gives a fascinating insight into her creative writing processes.

J.K. Rowling will join comedian Shazia Mirza and music producer Glyn Johns on the panel of a special extended edition of BBC Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity this Christmas.  The award-winning radio show, which is hosted by John Lloyd and features guest ‘curator’ Bridget Christie, asks three distinguished guests to donate fascinating exhibits to a vast imaginary Museum.

The programme will air on Monday 23rd December at 6.15pm GMT on BBC Radio 4, and is repeated over the Christmas period.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child officially opened at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre with a red carpet gala on Saturday 23rd February.  The cast, director John Tiffany, writer Jack Thorne, and producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender were all on the red carpet to welcome Australian fans to the show. 

J.K. Rowling couldn’t attend, but sent the production a note saying: ‘Thank you to the cast and creative team who’ve done such a magnificent job.  If I could apparate I’d be there.  My heart’s in Oz tonight!’

Sonia Friedman, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany and Colin Callender

The multi-award-winning theatrical event is exclusive to Melbourne in Australia and is currently booking at the newly renovated Princess Theatre until December 2019.  

This is the third continent that the eighth story is opening to, as it continues to entertain and delight audiences in London and New York.  The show received its world premiere in July 2016 at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End, and opened at the Lyric Theatre on Broadway in April 2018.  It will open in San Francisco in 2019 and in Hamburg 2020, which will be the first non-English language production of the Cursed Child.

For the latest news and information about Cursed Child in Melbourne, head over to the Cursed Child website or www.pottermore.com.

On 8th May 2012, J.K. Rowling was granted the Freedom of the City of London. The Freedom of the City of London is one of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence today. It’s believed that the first Freedom was presented in 1237.

The medieval term ‘freeman’ referred to someone who was not beholden to a feudal lord, but enjoyed privileges such as the right to earn money and own land. Town dwellers who were protected by the charter of their town or city were often free – hence the term ‘Freedom of the City’.

Image © Reuters

In 2001, J.K. Rowling received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, for services to children’s literature.