JK Rowling announces title of first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy

JK Rowling has unveiled the title of her forthcoming debut novel for adults as The Casual Vacancy. Her first novel since the final Harry Potter book was published in 2007 is already tipped to be the best-selling novel of 2012 when it is released later on this year.

The 480-page book will be set in the idyllic town of Pagford, which is ripped apart by a parish council election and becomes a town at war.

The novel begins with the unexpected death of Barry Fairweather, an upstanding member of the town’s council – the task of filling his empty seat “becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen.”

Details of her first novel since Harry Potter were released today by Rowling’s publisher, Little Brown, who described it in a statement as a “blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising” novel.

Rowling’s mega-successful Harry Potter books amassed her an estimated fortune of over £620 million and led to the biggest movie franchise of all time. Can she repeat this success with The Casual Vacancy? Booksellers sure hope so.

Khaleda Rahman

The Casual Vacancy will be published worldwide by Little, Brown and Co. on 27^th September 2012 in hardback, audio and e-book formats.