What name did J.K. Rowling use for her 2012 adult novel about a local council election?

J.K. Rowling’s 2012 adult novel about a local council election is The Casual Vacancy.

Published by Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012, The Casual Vacancy was Rowling’s first novel published after the Harry Potter series. It is set in the fictional English town of Pagford, where the death of parish councillor Barry Fairbrother creates an empty seat on the local council.

The novel explores class, poverty, family conflict, addiction and local politics through several residents of Pagford. Unlike the Harry Potter books, it is an adult contemporary novel with no magical setting. Its title refers to the unfilled council position created by Fairbrother’s death.

The Casual Vacancy was adapted into a three-part BBC television drama in 2015. It should not be confused with Rowling’s detective novels, which she wrote under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, beginning with The Cuckoo’s Calling.