J.K. Rowling Released a New Children’s Book for Free Online and We’re Loving It

A new Harry Potter book? Wrong. J.K. Rowling announced in a series of Twitter tweets that she’s been working on a new children’s book called The Ickabog.

Rowling revealed that she came up with the story a long time ago and read it to her two children by chapter every night. She was originally supposed to publish the book after the final Harry Potter book was released back in 2007, but decided to take a break from publishing and put the manuscript locked away in her attic. However, Rowling decided to give the story another try and wanted to publish the book free for the children in lockdown.

Rowling said that the book is geared toward children for ages seven and above for them to read themselves and expressed that the story is about truth and the abuse of power. Rowling also announced children ages seven to twelve have a chance to feature their own drawings for the story and encouraged them to express their creativity. She urged them not to worry about producing the most technical illustrations.

The first two chapters are published online and more chapters will be posted on The Ickabog website every weekday until July 10th.

The Ikabog will be published in November 2020 in print, audiobook, and eBook formats.