Little, Brown and Company releases the cover for The Casual Vacancy
by J. K. Rowling,
along with updated cover copy, details of the audio reader,
and confirmed page count.
Published worldwide in the English language on September 27, 2012
in hardcover ($35.00), large print hardcover ($39.00), e-book ($19.99), unabridged audio
download ($29.98), and on CD ($44.98)
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but
what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands,
teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest
war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and
unexpected revelations?
A big novel about a small town, The Casual Vacancy is J. K. Rowling’s first novel for adults. It is the
work of a storyteller like no other.
The Casual Vacancy
512 pages
ISBN 978-0-316-22853-4
ISBN 978-0-316-22854-1
ISBN 978-0-316-22855-8
ISBN 978-1-619-69501-6
ISBN 978-1-619-69500-9
Hardcover ($35.00)
Large print hardcover ($39.00)
E-book ($19.99)
Audio downloadable ($29.98)
Audio CD ($44.98)
The audio edition of The Casual Vacancy will be read by Tom Hollander, an experienced star of
stage and screen.
Notes to Editors
Barry Fairbrother’s surname was incorrectly given as Fairweather in our original press release. This
was Little, Brown UK’s error, and we are correcting it now.
J. K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series of seven books, published
between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more
than two hundred territories, have been translated into seventy-three languages, and have been
turned into eight blockbuster films. She has also written two small volumes, which appear as the
titles of Harry’s schoolbooks within the novels: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and
Quidditch Through the Ages were published by Scholastic in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. In
December 2008, The Tales of Beedle the Bard was published in aid of the Children’s High Level
Group, and quickly became the fastest-selling book of the year.
As well as an OBE for services to children’s literature, J. K. Rowling is the recipient of numerous
awards and honorary degrees, including the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, France’s Légion
d’honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and she has been a commencement speaker
at Harvard University. She supports a wide number of charitable causes through her charitable trust
Volant, and is the founder of Lumos, a charity working to transform the lives of disadvantaged
children.
Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group. Founded in 1837, Little, Brown
has long been recognized as a publisher committed to publishing fiction of the highest quality and
nonfiction of lasting significance.
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading trade publisher based in New York and a division of
Hachette Livre, the second-largest publisher in the world. HBG publishes under the divisions of
Little, Brown and Company, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, Faith
Words, Center Street, Orbit, and Hachette Digital.
Press Contacts
Nicole Dewey, nicole.dewey@hbgusa.com, 212-364-1204
Michelle Aielli, michelle.aielli@hbgusa.com, 212-364-1223
For further information about J. K. Rowling, please visit her website: jkrowling.com.