What was the title of J.K. Rowling’s 2012 novel for adults about a local council election?

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

Published on 27 September 2012, The Casual Vacancy was Rowling’s first novel after the Harry Potter series. It is set in the fictional English parish of Pagford and begins when Barry Fairbrother, a parish councillor, dies unexpectedly. His death creates the “casual vacancy” referenced in the title: an unfilled seat on the local council.

The book examines class conflict, poverty, addiction, family tension, and local political power. Its tone and subject matter differ sharply from the fantasy setting of Harry Potter, which led many readers to treat it as a deliberate change of genre and audience.

The novel was adapted into a three-part BBC television drama broadcast in 2015. Rowling’s later adult crime novels were published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, beginning with The Cuckoo’s Calling, so those books are separate from The Casual Vacancy.