The Potter books have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide. The first in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was published in 1997. For her new novel, Rowling switched publishers leaving Scholastic for Little, Brown. "The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry's success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life," she said in a statement. The Washington Post hints that writing an adult novel may be as much a canny move as it is literary progression on Rowling's part. If her original fans were between 10 and 14-years-old when the series began, they are now in their mid- to late twenties and primed for more grown-up fare from their favorite author.
There is some speculation that the new book will be a detective whodunit. Ian Rankin, a top-selling crime fiction writer in the U.K and Rowling's former neighbor tweeted, ""Wouldn't it be funny if J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults turned out to be a crime story set in Edinburgh? My word yes…." Rowling herself is being characteristically mysterious. Her official website pictures a copy of a fat hardcover titled "New Book" and a hand written note that teases: "Although I've enjoyed writing it just as much, my next novel will be very different from the Harry Potter series."
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