J.K. Rowling to Write New Book for Adults

J.K. Rowling, the author of the much-celebrated and best-selling Harry Potter book series, announced today that she will return to writing, this time for adults.

Rowling, whose massively popular Potter series has sold roughly 450 million copies worldwide and made $7.7 billion at the box office, both industry bests, has announced that she has reached an agreement with publisher Little, Brown and Company.

The details of the agreement, including the name, release date and plot of the novel, were not announced.

The deal marks a change in publisher for Rowling, who had previously found success working with Bloomsbury in the U.K. and  Scholastic in the United States.

"Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world," Rowling said in a statement released by Little, Brown. "The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry's success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life."

Rowling's agent, Neil Blair, told the Associated Press, "As her new book is for a different audience, and marks a new literary direction for her, it made sense to separate the two and for her new book to be launched by a different publisher."

Popular children's authors often have trouble making the transition to adult literature but Rowling is no ordinary children's author.

Her Harry Potter books have a massive fan base that extends beyond children to all age groups.

Her original readers, who were the same age as 11-year-old Harry Potter when the the first book came out would be in their mid-twenties today and are no doubt, eager to see what Rowling has in store for them.