What's next from J.K. Rowling? Three new Hogwarts e-books
J.K. Rowling is revealing more details about the school of witchcraft and wizardry in new e-books. The books follow the July debut of the West End play 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.'
Smoke filters through Hogwarts Castle during the grand opening celebration for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Universal Studio Resort in Orlando, Fla. in 2010.
Scott Audette/Reuters
“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling is releasing more back stories about the beloved school that Harry attended, with three e-books about the school and its denizens set to be released this September in the newest example of Ms. Rowling choosing an unusual format for her tales.
These short e-books are the newest example of Rowling selecting a nontraditional format for continuing to spin fresh yarns about about Harry the boy wizard and the world he inhabits.
Since the 2007 release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and the (ostensible) conclusion of the “Harry Potter” series, Rowling has not released another full-length novel set in her wizarding world. Instead, she has released new works in short formats on the site Pottermore and answered fan questions on Twitter; written a screenplay for a film, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” that is set in Harry's world (though decades before) and will be released in November; and contributed ideas for a stage play, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which is currently running in the West End. While “Cursed Child” was published as a book, it is a copy of the script from the play rather than a literary novel.
It was announced on the Pottermore website that three new e-books, titled “Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide,” “Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists,” and “Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies,” will be released and will consist of material that has previously been seen on the Pottermore website as well as new work from Rowling.
“Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide” will center on the institution and its traditions like the Sorting Hat, while “Power, Politics” will discuss those of dubious morality like Horace Slughorn, a professor at Hogwarts, and places such as the prison Azkaban, while “Heroism, Hardship” will explore those who teach at Hogwarts, including Minerva McGonagall.
All three will be released on Sept. 6 and are $2.99 each.