JK Rowling's Publishing Something New!

If you're a fan of JK Rowling — I mean Robert Galbraith — then you might want to open a new tab with your Google Calendar. The sequel to The Cuckoo's Calling , which Rowling published secretly under the Galbraith pseudonym last year, has an official release date. So now we only need to wait until June 24 — or June 19 if you're in the UK – to get our hands on the next book by the beloved author of the Harry Potter series (and of that other novel we don't talk about). Hooray!

In the new book, titled The Silkworm , private detective and war veteran Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott investigate the disappearance of a novelist who has a fondness for writing scathing descriptions of real people — a fondness which seems to have gotten him killed. The publishers promise the novel will be "a compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn." Hey, if Rowling's writing it, I'm down.

The first novel Rowling wrote in the series, The Cuckoo's Calling , was released last year under the Robert Galbraith pseudonym with no fanfare since not even the publisher knew that the author was secretly one of the most biggest bestselling writers of our time. The book received some positive reviews, but the small sales numbers one would expect from an unknown, first-time writer — at least until one of Rowling's lawyers accidentally let the information slip and a friend of his wife's took the story to the media.

The book became an instant bestseller, and Rowling, who had been enjoying the anonymity for a change, sued her lawyers for breach of confidentiality. They ultimately settled, and she donated the money from the suit and the royalties form the book to a charity that aided veterans.

But apparently she isn't letting the spotlight stop her from writing, because now she's back with another book in the series! And it's somehow endearing that even though everyone knows it's her, she's still using the Robert Galbraith pseudonym, like he's one of her characters, too.

Though knowing Rowling, I wouldn't put it past her to be secretly publishing something else under a new name, too. She's tricky like that.