J.K. ROWLING’S "FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM" Screenplay to Be Published

Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, announced today that it will publish the screenplay of the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the United States and Canada on November 19, 2016.

Returning to her wizarding world, the all-new adventure film, which will release November 18, 2016, marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books.

The published screenplay (ISBN: 978-1-338-10906-1; All Ages; $24.99 SLP) will be a hardcover. The ebook edition of the screenplay will be published by Pottermore, the global digital publisher of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, simultaneously with the print edition in collaboration with Scholastic in the USA. 

In making the announcement, Ellie Berger, President of Scholastic’s U.S. Trade Division, said, “With any new writing from J.K. Rowling, we know that we are not only engaging her vast fan base, but are also building a new generation of readers. The much anticipated release of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie marks another magical and exciting moment for film lovers and readers everywhere, and we are absolutely delighted to publish J.K. Rowling’s screenplay debut.”


Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a feat of imagination and an exciting adventure featuring an array of magical creatures and characters. The film opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander, played by Academy Award-winner Eddie Redmayne, has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary collection of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident; were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical briefcase, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

In addition to writing the screenplay of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, J.K. Rowling has collaborated on the stage play of the eighth story, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two, which is a new play by Jack Thorne, based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne. The play opens in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.