Rowling warns that this isn’t Harry Potter. Judging from the first chapter, it’s got much more in common with fairy tales aimed at younger children — the chapter even begins “Once upon a time.” The story is being released chapter-by-chapter on its own dedicated site, and you can read each for free. Read: Disney debuts Zenimation, which mixes soothing sounds with familiar art According to Rowling, she originally wrote the story for her children, and later stored it when she chose to publish adult novels instead, presumably referring to Casual Vacancy or her Cormoran Strike series. The coronavirus pandemic prompted her to dust it off and rewrite it: Rowling’s not kidding about the pandemic being “hard on children.” Social distancing and quarantine mean children can’t attend school or socialize with friends or family. They might be stuck at home with parents who simultaneously have to work from home and care for them, potentially even homeschooling them. We’ve all been under these restrictions for months now, and I’m sure we all either have or have heard of children who are chafing at the restrictions. Rowling’s publishers are also running an illustration competition, meaning you can submit your drawings to potentially be included in the print edition of The Ickabog. There are separate competitions for both UK and US readers, and you can enter each here and here, respectively. Note that the rules of the competition specify that they want children’s drawings, so none of that trying to sneak in your professional art, adults. You can read chapters of The Ickabog here. At the time of this writing, five chapters have been released.
