J.K. Rowling appears as the author of The Ickabog. She wrote the children’s fantasy during the 2000s, around the period when she was completing the Harry Potter series, but did not publish it at that time. Rowling later revised the manuscript and released it in 2020.
The book was published as a standalone fairy tale rather than as a Harry Potter story. It is set in the fictional kingdom of Cornucopia, where rumors about a monster called the Ickabog affect politics and society. Rowling offered the work online in installments during 2020, and the completed edition included illustrations selected through a children’s competition.
The Ickabog is distinct from Rowling’s Robert Galbraith crime novels and from the Harry Potter companion texts. It was also connected to charitable fundraising: Rowling donated her author royalties to help people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other vulnerable groups. The author credit therefore uses Rowling’s public name, not her crime-fiction pseudonym.