I have a small announcement, but before I get started, I
want to head off one possible source of confusion.
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THIS IS NOT A HARRY POTTER SPIN-OFF
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1/13

Over 10 years ago, I wrote a stand-alone fairy tale called
The Ickabog. You can read more about how, why and
when The Ickabog was written at https://www.jkrowling.com/j-k-rowling-introduces-the-ickabog/

2/13

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.

3/13

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.

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

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

Absolutely no idea what inspired this doodle.

6/13

Anyway, over the last few weeks I’ve done a bit of rewriting
and I’ve decided to publish the Ickabog for free online,
so children on lockdown, or even those back at school during these strange, unsettling times, can read it or have it read to them.

7/13

We’ll be publishing a chapter (or 2 or 3) every weekday,
starting at 3.00pm 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…

8/13

I’d like children to illustrate the book for me!

I’ll be suggesting ideas for pictures as we go, but nobody
should feel constrained by my ideas. Let your
imaginations run wild!

9/13

The best pictures in each publishing territory will be included in the books we intend to publish in November 2020.

As individual publishers will know best which illustrations work in their editions, I won’t be personally judging this competition.

However...

10/13

… if parents or guardians would like to post artwork on the hashtag #TheIckabog, I’ll be able to retweet and comment!

(For full terms & conditions of the competition, you’ll need to go to the publishers’ competition websites, which launch later today.)

11/13

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.

12/13

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