Little Brown Book Group (LBBG) has clinched a deal to publish J.K.Rowling’s next novel, which the company says will be for adult audiences.
LBBG will publish and distribute the book in the UK and in eBook formats, while their US counterpart, Little, Brown and Company (LBC), will handle North American publishing and distribution.
There are already deals being made with publishers in other language markets as well. Unfortunately, LBBG is being rather tight-lipped, so all we really know is that the book won’t be in the “Young Adult” category.
We don’t have a synopsis, a title, or a release date. We don’t even have a description of the genre of the book.
Rowling gained fame for authoring the seven book serial Harry Potter, which was published by Bloomsbury, but has since only worked on some supplemental material for that series, like in-canon fairytale books and some world guides. There has been a significant amount of curiosity about what Rowling’s next real project might be, especially since, due to her fame and finance, her next project could really be anything, and it would be a bestseller just for her name.
She could write a boringly classic Victorian romance, she could jump on the zombie train and write an undead thriller, she could even just publish a book of stream-of-consciousness musings, and it would sell like another masterpiece.
“Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world,” said Rowling. “The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life.”
Rowling is currently writing the book, which is slated to be edited by LBBG’s David Shelley. As noted above, the enigmatic novel does not yet have an official title or release date.
