With “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” set to bow on Nov. 18, J.K. Rowling has crafted a four-part collection of new original writing entitled “Magic in North America” to introduce audiences to a new place and time in the wizarding world that she created.
The first installment, “History of Magic in North America,” was introduced Monday with the global launch of a 100-second specially produced video that serves as a prologue to the new original writing by Rowling.
The writing will be posted on Pottermore.com over four consecutive days beginning Tuesday at 6 a.m. PST. The four stories will educate readers on previously little explored themes in the wizarding world: North American witches and wizards, their history and their magic. The video broke simultaneously on selected media sites around the world and links viewers to “History of Magic in North America.” The video and the writing provide context and backstory for the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” movie, which stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander.
Rowling, who first conceived the wizarding world in her enormously popular Harry Potter books, had introduced wizards and witches from other parts of Europe in the series, most notably in the Quidditch World Cup and Triwizard Tournament.
