J.K. Rowling's new book

J.K. Rowling Set To Publish New Book

Her latest will be "very different" from the Harry Potter series and is aimed at adults.

By Abby Ohlheiser | Posted Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, at 11:26 AM ET

J.K Rowling'sr new publisher announced Thursday that the Harry Potter author would write a new book -- for adults

Photo by Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images.

After a five-year hiatus, J.K. Rowling will be back in stores with a new book, her publisher announced Thursday. But this time, she'll be leaving Hogwarts—and some of her younger readers—behind.

The new book, which is still un-titled at the moment, will instead target an adult audience. "Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series," Rowling said in a statement from publisher Little, Brown and Company (via the New York Times' artsbeat blog).

Rowling's previous publishers were Bloomsbury in the U.K. and Scholastic in the U.S., who are most likely currently weeping tears of sorrow over Rowling's decision to leave the young adult shelves behind. On the switch to Little, Brown, Rowling said: "The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher."

Although the Potter series were ostensibly children's books, Rowling has attracted an audience of adult readers to her wildly popular fantasy books, not to mention readers who grew into adulthood while reading the series. It's likely her permanent fan base will be keeping a close eye on Rowling's newest project, the details of which are criminally sparse at the moment. No word yet on when the new book will be available in stores.