J.K. Rowling’s novel The Casual Vacancy first appeared in 2012.
Little, Brown published The Casual Vacancy on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling’s first novel after the Harry Potter series ended with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007. The release attracted worldwide attention because it represented her first major fictional project outside the wizarding world.
The novel is set in Pagford, a fictional English parish whose local council becomes divided after the death of Barry Fairbrother. Rowling used the dispute to examine tensions involving wealth, social status, family life, and public responsibility. The book was marketed for adults rather than children.
A common mix-up places the novel in 2011, the year Rowling launched Pottermore, or in 2013, the year The Cuckoo’s Calling appeared under the Robert Galbraith name. Those were important dates in her career, but The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012.