Feb. 10--The eighth story in the Harry Potter series will be published July 31, Scholastic announced today in a press release.
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I II" by Jack Thorne is a play based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, Thorne and John Tiffany that follows Harry as an employee of the Ministry of Magic, husband and father of three kids, the second of whom, Albus, struggles with the "weight of a family legacy he never wanted," the statement said.
"As the U.S. print publisher, Scholastic introduced Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World to American readers nearly 20 years ago and experienced firsthand the anticipation and excitement of the publication of each of the books over the years," Ellie Berger, president of Scholastic Trade, said in the press release. "We are thrilled to publish 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' this summer."
The play, which generated minor controversy when it was announced Noma Dumezweni will play Hermione, will premiere in London July 30 and is considered canonical, taking place 19 years after the events of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh novel in Rowling's acclaimed series.
The special edition of the book, which will be published by Scholastic imprint Arthur A. Levine Books, will be released in the U.S. and Canada at 12:01 a.m. on July 31 -- Harry Potter's birthday -- and will be priced $29.99 in the U.S. An e-book will simultaneously be published on Pottermore.
The special edition of the book -- dubbed the "Special Rehearsal Edition" -- contains the early script of the play's preview period, during which changes to the script can be made. A "Definitive Collector's Edition" featuring the final script will be released at a later date.
