J.K. Rowling published The Ickabog in 2020.
The Ickabog is a standalone children’s fantasy novel that Rowling wrote years earlier and later revised for publication. She released the story online in installments beginning in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving families a free way to read it while schools and daily routines were disrupted.
The print edition was published in November 2020. Rowling donated royalties from the book to her charitable trust, Volant, to support groups affected by the pandemic. The story is set in the fictional kingdom of Cornucopia and explores how fear, propaganda, greed, and political deception can harm a society.
The book is not a Harry Potter novel and is not set in the Wizarding World. It is also distinct from Rowling’s adult novels and from the Cormoran Strike crime series.