We’re here to guide you through the
Coronavirus lockdown. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.JK Rowling has announced she’s releasing a new bedtime story for kids – completely free online – to help families confined at home during the pandemic.
Explaining her new project on
Twitter, the author wrote: “Over 10 years ago, I wrote a stand-alone fairy tale called The Ickabog. 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.
“Until very recently, the only people who’d heard the story of The Ickabog were my two younger children.”I have a small announcement, but before I get started, Iwant to head off one possible source of confusion.********************************************THIS IS NOT A HARRY POTTER SPIN-OFF********************************************1/13— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 26, 2020Over time, she wrote, she came to think of “The Ickabog” as just for her family, so the manuscript went up in her attic. But a few weeks ago, she decided to get it down.
“Opening the box was like opening a time capsule,” she wrote. “Most of the story was handwritten, but bits had been typed up. When I put it into some kind of order (I’m not renowned for my filing skills) I had a patchwork first draft.”Opening the box was like opening a time capsule. Most of the story was handwritten, but bits had been typed up. When I put it into some kind of order (I'm not renowned for my filing skills) I had a patchwork first draft.5/13 pic.twitter.com/mz1qaGyyUt— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 26, 2020She continued: “We’ll be publishing a chapter (or 2 or 3) every weekday, starting at 3pm today and ending on July 10th. You don’t need to register to access the story. You can read it for free on a new website we’ll be launching shortly. But there’s more.”
Rowling went on to explain that she’d like kids to illustrate the book for her. She’ll be suggesting ideas, but says “nobody should feel constrained by my ideas. Let your imaginations run wild!”
The best pictures will be included in the books she intends to publish in November 2020.
She added: “Lastly, I intend to donate my author royalties from the published books to projects and organisations helping the groups most impacted by Covid-19. Full details will be made available later in the year.”The first two chapters of The Ickabog will be going live in a couple of hours time. Whether you read it yourself, or have it read to you, I hope you enjoy it ❤️13/13— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 26, 2020Full details of where to read the book will be published at 3pm on 26 May. Explaining more details of the book on her website, Rowling wrote: “The Ickabog is a story about truth and the abuse of power. To forestall one obvious question: the idea came to me well over a decade ago, so it isn’t intended to be read as a response to anything that’s happening in the world right now. The themes are timeless and could apply to any era or any country.”Related... J.K. Rowling Perfectly Shuts Down Tory MP's Defence Of Dominic Cummings In Just One Tweet We Are Single Parents In A Pandemic. We're Coping But Don't Forget Us Once The Pandemic Is Over, Can We Keep The World This Accessible?