Cover for The Casual Vacancy Released


Managing Editor
07/03/12 08:28am
13 Comments

Today Little, Brown has given us a long-awaited surprise: the cover for The Casual Vacancy has been revealed!

The Casual vacancy

In addition, some details have also been revealed: The character of Barry Fairweather is actually Barry Fairbrother, and the page count will clock in at 512. And here’s an updated description to help ease the wait to September 27th:

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations?

A big novel about a small town, The Casual Vacancy is J. K. Rowling’s first novel for adults. It is the work of a storyteller like no other.

Minimalist, vibrant, and stylish, the cover tells us a lot about what the book will be like! What do you guys think? Can you imagine if they did a series of Potter covers like this one? Fan-artists, get working!

Update: The publisher has kindly sent along a proper high resolution version, which you can view in all its glory by clicking here!

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  • Dncr_emily

    I kept reading Pagford as pigfarts…

    • J-jay

      I kept reading it as Padfoot XP

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=624051004 Jennifer Shaw Smyth

    I’m really excited for this book! Can’t say I like the cover. The color choices are a little bright for my taste and I’m not crazy about the font for her name. Still, you can’t judge a book by the cover, right? :)

  • Amanda

    Gryffindor colors…

  • http://twitter.com/Jen_McIntire Jennifer

    I hate this cover! I get it that this is a very different book from the Potters but Marie GrandPre did such beautiful artwork! I didn’t think this book would have an elaborate cover but this is just so minimal. I guess it fits with the low-keyness of the marketing plan.

    • http://twitter.com/BradAusrotas Brad Ausrotas

      It more fits with the subject matter. The Potter covers were elaborate and fantastical because that’s what the books were all about. This one is 1940s pulp noir mystery/political type stuff, and the cover perfectly reflects that!

      • PhoenixFeather

        Do we know its 1940s? I kept picturing it set in present day.

        • http://twitter.com/BradAusrotas Brad Ausrotas

          Whether it’s set in present-day doesn’t matter- it’s clear from the description that the story uses a lot of the tropes that were very, very popular in the 1940s.

          • PhoenixFeather

            I see your point, and agree. (I like the cover btw)

  • http://twitter.com/themaddestcat Catherine W.

    Oh god it’s so BRIGHT.

  • 19yearslater

    I don’t think the Potter covers would make sense like this. Like another commenter I hate the font for her name, it says J.K. ROWLiNG and that i bugs me. I’ll wait for the story to decide if the rest fits.

  • Kat

    I love the cover! her name was always going to look a bit weird because its soooo iconic.but i love what they did.

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