Harry Potter is heading back to the printed page when the eighth official Potter adventure makes its way to bookstores this July.
A published version of the script to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the two part play based on a new, original Rowling story of an adult Harry Potter, will mark the first new tome since 2007’s The Deathly Hallows. Penned by Jack Thorne, the play will run at London’s West End and explore Harry’s adult life as an overworked Ministry of Magic worker along with his Hogwarts-age son Albus Severus.
We’re thrilled to announce a new publishing programme from @jk_rowling #WizardingWorld: https://t.co/ffbBrlH3dz pic.twitter.com/b3Ks88WiZd
— Pottermore (@pottermore) February 10, 2016
Announced via Rowling’s Pottermore website, the book will be released in two waves: first, a ‘Special Rehearsal Edition’ based on scripts from preview performances will land in print and digital formats one day after the play’s official premiere in London on July 30 (the 31st is Harry’s birthday, FYI), with a final ‘Definitive Collector’s Edition’ to arrive later. Presumably that edition will jettison any dialogue that falls flat, AKA anything that resembles the dreadful pep talk Harry gives to his son in The Deathly Hallows’ epilogue.
Real talk though, the jury is out on whether it will fully recapture the magic of Rowlings’ original series given it will follow a scripted format. As anyone who’s read the book knows, half the fun of Rowling’s writing lies in her love of distinctive, occasionally over-the-top use of adjectives. Who will tell us just what degree of ruddiness Hagrid’s cheeks are, or just how hooked or crooked a character’s nose is? It would be weird for the characters to say that kind of stuff aloud.
But given the rate at which Rowling has been ramping up the output of Potter-related material in the last few years with plays, a new film and a flood of random trivia via Twitter, at least this time we’ll be able to soak up a few hundred pages of new Potter material like the good old days.
I envy JK Rowling’s insane power in maintaining a profitable cottage industry of drip-fed Harry Potter facts she just made up — j.r. hennessy (@jrhennessy) January 30, 2016
As we’ve learned from the State Library’s swiftly sold out movie marathon, the Potter hunger is still strong in Adelaide audiences, even if that doesn’t carry over to any other books Rowling writes.
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Photograph:
Warner Bros.
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