Exciting news Potter fans! This morning it was announced that we are going to get our eighth Harry Potter book after all! A script book of the upcoming play is going to be released in July, the day after the play is first performed in London. This is excellent news for all of us who can’t make it to London to see the play first hand, we won’t miss out on the glory of a new Harry Potter story.
For those who don’t know, the play takes place after book seven, following on from Rowling’s 19 years later epilogue. Harry is working at the Ministry and his children are at school, and it seems everyone is still learning to deal with the aftermath of Harry’s great achievements. A brief synopsis reveals part of what we can expect:
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places.
The play is by Jack Thorne, based on an original new story by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, and is the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage (though we can’t forget the glory that is A Very Potter Musical, as unofficial as it is).
Both a print and digital copies will be released simultaneously after the world premiere on 30th July this year, and according to Pottermore it will comprise of the version of the script at the time of the play’s preview performances.
As exciting as this is, it gets better. Aussie bookseller Booktopia and Amazon.com have already got pre-order links available so you can secure your copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II. This announcement is clearly the start of some great Harry Potter news, and with the 20th anniversary next year we have only got special editions and many more surprises to look forward to. Pottermore reveals there are going to be four special UK editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, one for each Hogwarts house, and there will also be brand new editions of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, with new content by J.K. Rowling, as well as new editions of the Hogwarts Library books – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
There is so much to look forward to and I’m sure there will be even more surprises to come as the anniversary nears. I know I already have grand plans to celebrate next year and with all these new releases and special editions it’s only going to get better.
Pre-order Harry Potter and the Cursed Child via the following
Lost in a Good Book 