British author J.K. Rowling, best known for the Harry Potter books, announced that she is publishing a new book for children, titled Ickabog. Rowling was in news on Tuesday for offering to pay a year’s salary to a UK civil servant who trolled the Boris Johnson-led government on Twitter using an official handle.
Rowling revealed that the book will be published online, in instalments, for free. She added that the story is not related to the Harry Potter series and is suitable for children between the ages of seven and nine.
The book, which was initially referred to as an unnamed “political fairytale” by Rowling, will be published until July 10 on the Ickabog website. The author had written it over a decade ago, but, had dusted it off as at the time, she had decided to take a break from publishing.
I have a small announcement, but before I get started, I
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 26, 2020
want to head off one possible source of confusion.
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THIS IS NOT A HARRY POTTER SPIN-OFF
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1/13
Rowling, who announced the book on Twitter, said that the book, a lot of which is handwritten, is about truth and the abuse of power.
Ickabog, the story she read to her two children when they were little, she said, is for “children on lockdown, or even those back at school during these strange, unsettling times”.
She shared on the Twitter thread that going back to the manuscript was like opening a time capsule.
Rowling has also asked young readers to draw illustrations for the book whose theme is inequality, with the best pictures to be included in the books, when they get published.
