LONDON (AP) – J.K. Rowling has completed her first book after her popular series on teen wizard Harry Potter – an illustrated collection of magical fairy stories titled “The Tales of Beedle the Bard.”

Only seven copies of the handwritten book have been made, Rowling said Thursday. One will be auctioned next month to raise money for a children’s charity, while the others have been given away as gifts.

Rowling drew the illustrations herself and provided the handwriting for the stories that make up the collection of tales.

“The Tales of Beedle the Bard” is mentioned in the final Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” as a gift left by headmaster Albus Dumbledore to Harry’s friend Hermione, and provides clues that help destroy evil Lord Voldemort.

“‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ is really a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, and writing it has been the most wonderful way to say goodbye to a world I have loved and lived in for 17 years,” Rowling said in a statement.


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