What pen name did J.K. Rowling use for The Casual Vacancy?

J.K. Rowling published The Casual Vacancy under the pen name J.K. Rowling. The novel, released in 2012, was her first published work for adults after the Harry Potter series.

The book is a contemporary social novel set in the fictional English town of Pagford. Its plot begins after the sudden death of parish councillor Barry Fairbrother, creating a vacancy and exposing conflicts among local residents. Unlike the fantasy setting of Harry Potter, the novel focuses on class, politics, family, and community tensions.

Rowling later used the pseudonym Robert Galbraith for her Cormoran Strike crime novels. That name is therefore associated with her detective fiction, not with The Casual Vacancy. The distinction is useful because both books appeared after the Harry Potter series and were written for different audiences.

The Casual Vacancy was published by Little, Brown and Company. A BBC television adaptation aired in 2015, with the story divided into three episodes. The novel’s title refers to an actual term in British local-government practice for an unfilled elected position.