The Harry Potter series made author J.K. Rowling one of Britain’s richest citizens and now the writer is ready to tread new literary territory with her new book geared toward adults. Publication for the new novel and further details are being kept under wraps until later this year, but Rowling said through the book’s publisher Little, Brown and Co that the new novel she is presumably still writing will be a departure from Potter: “Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world. 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.” Published between 1997 and 2007, Rowling’s Harry Potter series of seven books sold over 450 million copies in 200 territories and 74 languages worldwide, spawning a pop culture gold mine and a lucrative movie franchise from Warner Bros that concluded with 2011′s Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. J.K. Little, Brown publisher David Shelley will be Rowling’s editor and publish the untitled novel in Britain, while Michael Pietsch, EVP of Little, Brown and Co, responsible for publication in the U.S. Rowling was represented by Neil Blair of The Blair Partnership.

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