Although known best for her work in children’s and young adult literature, on Thurs. Apr 12 Harry Potter creator and author J.K. Rowling released the name of her new book: The Casual Vacancy. Rowling first announced that she would be writing an adult fiction novel back in late February of this year, with mixed reactions from her Potter-loving fans.
Her new book will not support wand-toting boy wizards, but proclaims to be “blackly comic, thought provoking and constantly surprising,” according to the publisher, Little, Brown Book Group. The synopsis is as follows:
“When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.
“Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
“Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils … Pagford is not what it first seems.
“And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?”
Coinciding with the announcement of her new book, Rowling also launched her new website, jkrowling.com.
The novel is set to be released in hardback, e-book and audio on Thurs. Sept 27, 2012. Rowling’s fans can only hope that the public opening of Pottermore will come before that to tide them over.
Information in this article was taken from http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/TheCasualVacancy.