What was J.K. Rowling’s first published book for adults, released in 2012?

J.K. Rowling’s first published book for adults, released in 2012, was The Casual Vacancy.

The novel was published on 27 September 2012 by Little, Brown. It follows residents of Pagford after the death of a parish councillor leaves a vacant seat. The resulting political contest exposes tensions between wealthier and poorer parts of the community.

This was Rowling’s first novel after Harry Potter and was marketed separately from her children’s fantasy work. It does not continue Harry’s story and contains no wizarding setting. Its realism and mature subject matter led many readers to view it as a deliberate change of genre.

The title is also easy to confuse with Rowling’s later crime fiction. The Cuckoo’s Calling, published in 2013, was her first Cormoran Strike novel and initially appeared under the Robert Galbraith pseudonym. The Casual Vacancy remains Rowling’s first adult novel under her own name.