Under what name did J.K. Rowling publish the adult novel The Casual Vacancy?

J.K. Rowling published the adult novel The Casual Vacancy under the name J. K. Rowling.

The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012 and was Rowling’s first novel for adults after the Harry Potter series. It is set in the fictional English town of Pagford and begins with the sudden death of parish councillor Barry Fairbrother. The story examines class, politics, family tensions, and social divisions in a small community.

The book was not published under Robert Galbraith, the pseudonym Rowling later used for the Cormoran Strike crime novels. That distinction matters because both works appeared after Harry Potter but belong to different publishing projects.

The novel was later adapted into a BBC television miniseries. Its subject matter and tone differ sharply from Rowling’s children’s fantasy, although it retains her interest in communities, institutions, and conflicting personal loyalties.