Harry Potter Author Publishes New Children’s Story For Free Online
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The author most famous for her ground-breaking series Harry Potter has returned with another children’s book that she is offering to all for free online.
Titled The Ickabog, the story is about truth and the abuse of power. She notes that the draft has been written well over a decade ago and isn’t intended to be read as a response to anything that’s currently happening in the world. The themes are timeless and could apply to any era or any country.
She is also preemptively stating that the story is not a Harry Potter spin-off and has no relation to that universe.
The book is aimed at young children because she wrote the story for her own children when they were still small. Now that her children are well into their teenage years, they still remember the story of The Ickabog and enthusiastically urged Rowling to release the story.
Over time I came to think of The Ickabog as just for my family. The manuscript went up into the attic, where it remained until a few weeks ago.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 26, 2020
This is the very dusty box I got down from the attic.
(It's a Net-A-Porter box and might well have held a premiere dress.)
4/13 pic.twitter.com/vg8F5Qx33M
The story will be released online in chapters on their official website here. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 is already available for reading. Further chapters will be published every weekday and the full story will be completed on 10 July 2020.
Since the story is released with children affected by the pandemic in mind, Rowling is also hosting an Illustration Competition for the book. The competition is open for kids between the ages of seven and twelve years old and winners will have their illustrations featured in the physical book, which will be published in November.
However, it is currently only open for the US and UK, although they promise that the competition will soon be open for other countries as well.
Alternatively, you can share any illustration on Twitter with the hashtag #TheIckabog, which will be viewable by the public and Rowling herself!
Rowling has also decided to donate all royalties from The Ickabog to help groups who have been particularly impacted by the pandemic.
Start reading The Ickabog here: https://www.theickabog.com/home/
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