J.K. Rowling’s 2020 children’s novel about a boy called Bert is The Ickabog.
The Ickabog is a political fairy tale set in the fictional kingdom of Cornucopia. Its plot involves King Fred the Fearless, a supposed monster called the Ickabog, and the effects of fear, propaganda, and abuse of power. Bert is one of the children connected with the story’s resistance to injustice.
Rowling wrote the book years earlier but published it in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. She released chapters online in installments before the printed edition appeared, and children’s illustrations were selected through a competition. Royalties were committed to charitable causes supporting people affected by the pandemic.
The title is distinct from Rowling’s other post-Potter children’s works. The Ickabog was published under Rowling’s own name, not Robert Galbraith, the pseudonym used for the Cormoran Strike novels. It is also not part of the Harry Potter universe.