Walmart parking lot, Columbia and Memorial Drive, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Teri)

J.K. Rowling has had success like no author before her. According to Forbes magazine, the creator of the Harry Potter juggernaut has a net worth in excess of one billion dollars.

What does someone do when they have that kind of money — someone whose worklife is spent in relative isolation and introspection? If that person has the drive of Rowling, then the answer is to write, the result of which will arrive at your local bookstore on September 27th.

This is the publication date of The Casual Vacancy, a novel for adults. As no one has seen an advance copy; all we have to go on is the publisher’s description that it is a black comedy set in a small British town. “Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.”

Though the entirety of her output has been a children’s fantasy series, Rowling is now in a position to write whatever she desires. Houses will gladly fight to publish whatever she produces. (Little Brown reportedly wrote Rowling an $8M advance.) There will be an audience — eager and curious (myself included) — to purchase her work.

But everyone is wondering the same thing: Will it be good? Few authors successfully transition between children and adult genres. (Neil Gaiman and Sherman Alexie are two notable exceptions.) J.K. Rowling has the chops. But can she pull it off?

Are you eager and curious as well?

This Week

Jodi Kantor, author of The Obamas, Wednesday, September 12th, 7:30 p.m. MJCCA, $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

Erin and Philip Stead, Caldecott Medal winning illustrator and author of Bear Has a Story to Tell, Sunday, August 16th, 3 p.m., Little Shop of Stories, free.

City Schools of Decatur parents have until September 21st to take a survey regarding the 10 recent menu changes recently suggested by the Ultimate Menu Committee.  It’s a pretty simple survey, basically asking parents if they’d like to “keep” or “eliminate” the various food items under consideration.

Changes include the much written about chocolate milk ban, which has found its way into the AJC and the Champion newspapers in the last week, but also muffins, pancakes, chicken nuggets and shrimp poppers.