It seems that reissuing books with new covers is all the rage right now… Just a few weeks ago we reported that Robin Hobb was getting some cool new covers for her original Farseer Trilogy and that George R.R. Martin was getting some travel-guide looking covers for those who didn’t want to hold a book that could be regarded as ‘fantasy’ by people surrounding them on a train (as you may expect, I wasn’t really a fan). The next ‘big’ name to do the reissue dance though has outsold even George R.R. Martin: that name, of course, is J.K. Rowling and the reissue will be of all seven of her Harry Potter books.
But why would Bloomsbury Children’ s Books reinvent the covers of the phenomenally successful Harry Potter series? Bloomsbury chiefs explain that they see now as an ‘exciting new era for the Harry Potter books’, that this is the time to introduce the next generation to the magic of Harry Potter and take advantage of the excellent content that has come as a result of the ‘Pottermore’ project. The chosen slogan is: ‘It’s time to pass the magic on…’
The artist that Bloomsbury and J.K. Rowling took their time to choose for these reissues was Jonny Duddle, who said: ‘I’m hugely excited to work my way through the wonderful books. I couldn’t have asked for more enjoyable subject matter. It’s exciting, daunting and I feel the weight of responsibility, and I’m just hoping that my illustrations faithfully reflect the characters and world created by J.K.Rowling’. Here is the first cover that Mr Duddle has produced:
In fact, it’s not just a cover redesign that the books are getting either, Duddle will work with Bloomsbury to redesign the inside of all seven books too. Along with brand new artwork and an updated author biography, the editions will be reset to create a child-friendly reading experience for a new generation of readers. The titles will also contain highlights from Pottermore, the digital platform for Harry Potter.
Sadly, we’ve got a while to wait for these, although all seven titles will be published at the same time on 1st September 2014. Before that though, Bloomsbury announced that they’ve even more exciting Harry Potter plans that they intend to announce at the London Book Fair in April.
