JK Rowling's next novel will be "blackly comic"

NEW YORK: J.K. Rowling's first book for adults will be a "blackly comic" novel set in an idyllic English town where all is not what it seems, its publisher said on Thursday.

The title of the closely guarded 480-page novel by the prolific "Harry Potter" author will be "The Casual Vacancy." It and will be available worldwide in English on September 27 in hardback, e-book and in audio form, Little, Brown and Company said in a statement.

The publisher promised it will be "blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising," and offered some general plot details.

Rowling's foray into the adult fiction world begins when a character called Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly, leaving a town called Pagford in shock, before readers will realize that behind Pagford's facade is a town at war, according to the publisher.

"Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupil ... Pagford is not what it first seems," said the statement.

"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?"

When the novel was first announced in February, Rowling, 46 said the successful "Harry Potter" series had given her the "the freedom to explore new territory." The seven-book series sold 450 million copies worldwide and resulted in eight top-grossing movies.

"The Casual Vacancy" is the British writer's first novel directly aimed at the adult market. (Reuters)

New Harry Potter website and e-books unveiled

Harry Potter creater JK Rowling Thursday unveiled an interactive website featuring new material about the boy wizard's world, while his adventures will also now be sold as e-books for the first time.

The multi-million-selling British author made the announcement at a press conference in London after days of fevered speculation about her new project, which had been shrouded in secrecy and rumour.

The free website, www.pottermore.com, will go live from July 31 for one million Potter fans who pass a special online challenge, and to the general public from October.

The seven e-books will be available through the website from October in partnership with Sony.

"It's a great way to get back to the Harry Potter readership," Rowling told reporters.

She said Potter fans will be able to register on the free website using one of the young sorcerers from the books as their online identity, then play games and interact with elements of the fictional world.

The site will also have previously unpublished material that she has written on the backgrounds to the characters and their lives at Hogwarts Academy, a fictional school for young wizards.

"I had more than half of the new material already written," Rowling said, adding that some of it had been "literally" dug out of boxes.

"I wanted to give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly over the years, and to bring the stories to a new digital generation," she said.

"I hope fans and those new to Harry will have as much fun helping to shape Pottermore as I have."
Rowling revealed that she had "no plans" to write another Harry Potter novel but said that a rumoured Potter encyclopaedia was a possibility.

The author laid down her pen -- and Harry's magic wand -- when she finished the seventh book in 2007, with a stunning record of 400 million copies of the series sold around the world.

She said, however, that she was unable to leave Harry Potter and his world behind.

"It is exactly like an ex-boyfriend," she said.

"I only cried like that when my mum died. It completely changed my life. It is impossible to overstate what Harry Potter meant to me. I adore my readers."

Next month sees the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the final film in the epic saga, starring Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley (.AFP)

'Harry Potter' author JK Rowling's story to be made into a movie in Canada

'Harry Potter' author JK Rowling's rags to riches story is to be made into a movie in Canada.

The film based on Rowling's rise from struggling single mum in Edinburgh to multimillionaire author of the Harry Potter book series is set to begin shooting next month.

Scotland's The Herald newspaper reported that film producers initially toured Edinburgh in their search for shooting locations, but decided to move production to Canada to save money because they found similar buildings there that could be used as backdrops.

Rowling, 45, has not authorised the television movie, reports News.com.au.

She refused to comment on the film, which has the working title 'Strange Magic'.

Australian actor Poppy Montgomery, who stars as FBI agent Samantha Spade in the hit US television series Without a Trace, will play Rowling.

JK Rowling may win Oscar

Novelist J. K. Rowling has been credited for the first time as producer on the latest film adaptation of her Harry Potter series, which possibly leaves the author in line to win an Oscar.

This means Rowling – worth an estimated 800 million pounds– could walk down the red carpet to collect an Oscar for 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1', should the film win the Best Picture category.

Nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards will be announced in January, ahead of the ceremony in February.

The film earned more than 210 million pounds when it opened last weekend, and is likely to be the highest earner in the seven-film series.

"Jo had the option of taking a producer credit as early as the fourth film, but she chose not to until the final two films," the Daily Mail quoted David Heyman, who has produced all the films, as saying.

"Things were coming to an end and she wanted to put her stamp on it," he said.

However, the mother of three has always influenced production, insisting that the films be shot in Britain with an all-British cast.

Rowling, 45, who was once a struggling single mother, has sold more than 400 million books worldwide since the first Harry Potter was published in 1997.

Harry Potter is the most successful film franchise in history, selling 3.7 billion pounds worth of tickets.