J.K. Rowling’s fan base has to wait till the fall for her latest film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but their enjoyment won’t be limited to just a cinema outing — they’ll also get to appreciate the Harry Potter series creator’s screenplay in all its glory in book form. Pottermore announced today that Rowling’s screenplay will be published on November 19, the day after Fantastic Beasts hits theaters.
It’s not every screenplay that ends up being published like this, but of course, not every screenwriter is J.K. Rowling. And it doesn’t matter that Fantastic Beasts marks her screenwriting debut; it has been proven time and time again that readers are ravenous for her work. In this case, they’ll be able to purchase either an eBook or a print edition of the screenplay. The digital version will be available on Pottermore, Amazon, iBooks, and Kobo, while the hard copy will be sold by a variety of print retailers. Little, Brown is behind the U.K. print edition, while the U.S. and Canada are covered by Scholastic.
Pottermore tweeted the news today, trumpeting a “return to the wizarding world.”
As of November 19th, you’ll be able to own the #FantasticBeasts screenplay! #WizardingWorld https://t.co/72iOx289oR pic.twitter.com/0D4JW9IQRI
— Pottermore (@pottermore) April 26, 2016
The film takes place well before the events of the Harry Potter series and centers on a magizoologist named Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne. (You may remember the character as the author of Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, hence the movie’s title.) Set in 1920s New York, the fantasy drama follows the wizard after some of his magical creatures escape and end up on the loose in the city.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits theaters on November 18, with the screenplay being released the following day.
