The Week in J.K. Rowling: Cursed Child is not a prequel, and the dementors of depression

Welcome back to our week-end summary of news about our favorite tweeting novelist. This week saw J.K. Rowling give tips on how to win important fights, and some big news about the next Harry Potter “book.”

Still not a prequel:

Rowling gave Harry Potter fans good news this week when she announced that her script for the upcoming London play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (co-written with playwright Jack Thorne) will be published in book form this summer, just in time for Harry’s birthday. Since Cursed Child was first announced, Rowling has been insisting that it’s “not a prequel” (even starting her own hashtag for it). Somehow she got dragged into that same fight again, even though we should all know by now that Cursed Child picks up with Harry and friends 19 years after the original series. So just to be clear, once and for all: it’s not quite a book and it’s definitely not a prequel.

Fighting the dementors of depression:

Rowling has mentioned before that the terrifying dementors of Harry Potter’s universe, who drain the light and happiness out of everything they touch, were based on her own struggles with depression. So when a fan reached out for help this week about fighting her own dementors, Rowling gave some tips.

Gryffindor strong:

Depression isn’t the only mental health problem Rowling helped with this week. Another fan reached out to her about anxiety problems that have stopped her from being brave like a Gryffindor. Following the recent Pottermore redesign, it turns out most people identify as Gryffindor, and Rowling assured the fan of the strength in that. Other fans immediately reached out with the hashtag #GryffindorStrong.