Harry Potter author JK Rowling has surprised fans by announcing that she will release her new children’s book The Ickabog for free online.
Ms Rowling hopes that the ”stand-alone fairytale” will help children stay entertained during the coronavirus pandemic.
The author said that she had intended to publish The Ickabog straight after the release of the first Harry Potter book, but when the fantasy series became successful she decided to dedicate her time to writing adult fiction.
“I always meant to publish it, but after the last Potter was released I wrote two novels for adults and, after some dithering, decided to put those out next,” she said. “Until very recently, the only people who’d heard the story of The Ickabog were my two younger children.”
The old manuscript for the fairytale had been sitting in her attic up until “a few weeks ago” when Ms Rowling decided to redraft it.
Two or three chapters will be released every weekday starting from 3pm this afternoon until 10 July.
Ms Rowling wants fans to illustrate the book for her. “I’ll be suggesting ideas for pictures as we go,” she said. “But nobody should feel constrained by my ideas. Let your imaginations run wild.”
The best illustrations will be included in the published version of The Ickabog, scheduled for release this November.
All royalties from the published books will go to projects and organisations most impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
Ms Rowling has assured fans that they will not have to register to access the story. Instead, The Ickabog will be made available on a new website set to be launched this afternoon.
