Bloomsbury UK Reveals Four Exclusive Jim Kay Illustrations!

by · January 13, 2015

We’re all very excited about the fully illustrated editions of the Harry Potter novels that Bloomsbury is releasing, beginning later this year with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Illustrated Edition. This is the first time that the books will be fully illustrated. We first learned the news about these new editions back in 2013, when Jim was announced as the new illustrator, and we were able to see Jim’s version of Harry, as well as a depiction of Hogwarts.

In anticipation of the release, Bloomsbury has released four exclusive images from the first book, which will be released on October 6, 2015. The new images depict four of the key characters: Draco Malfoy, Rubeus Hagrid, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. You can see the images in our gallery below:

On the images, Jim, who is a Kate Greenaway Medal-winning illustrator, said,

To be given the opportunity to design the characters, the clothing, the architecture, and [the] landscapes to possibly the most expansive fantasy world in children’s literature[…] well, let[‘]s just say I’m extremely excited about it. The story is everything, and so I want to bring what I can to really show the depth of Rowling’s stories, to their best.  The books have made me look at people differently[;] I’m always scanning crowds for interesting faces. For an illustrator there’s no such thing as an ugly or odd[-]looking person – they are all interesting.

The special hardback will

include [a] ribbon marker, head and tail bands, illustrated endpapers and artwork on every spread.

The new editions will also be published in the US, by Scholastic, and across the world. The UK price of the hardback will be £30. You can read the full press release below.

What do you think of these exciting images? Are you looking forward to these fully illustrated editions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Press Release

Bloomsbury Releases Exclusive Images from Upcoming Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Artwork by Award-Winning Artist Jim Kay

Today Bloomsbury Publishing releases four new images from the eagerly anticipated illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Scholastic in the US will also reveal these images simultaneously.

Illustrated by Jim Kay, Kate Greenaway Medal winner, the images show, amongst other scenes, four major characters from the Harry Potter books – Rubeus Hagrid, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley.

“To be given the opportunity to design the characters, the clothing the architecture and landscapes to possibly the most expansive fantasy world in children's literature, well lets just say I'm extremely excited about it,” said Kay. “The story is everything, and so I want to bring what I can to really show the depth of Rowling's stories, to their best.  The books have made me look at people differently, I'm always scanning crowds for interesting faces. For an illustrator there's no such thing as an ugly or odd looking person – they are all interesting.”

Published globally on 6th October 2015 this will be the first fully illustrated edition of J.K. Rowling’s original Harry Potter novel. The hardback edition will include ribbon marker, head and tail bands, illustrated endpapers and  artwork on every spread. Many of the original Harry Potter publishers around the globe will be joining the UK and the US in bringing this illustrated edition to life – and it is set to be the landmark publishing event of 2015.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Illustrated Edition will be published in hardback on 6th October 2015 (£30:00 / 256pp / 9781408845646)