Each section is headed by a definition from Charles Arnold-Baker's book Local Council Administration. The book is split into seven parts, and features varying narratives. Most of the MuggleNet staff was in attendance and agree that it was a highlight of their lives. Rowling was interviewed, read an excerpt from the book, and signed a copy of the book for everyone in the audience. Koch Theater and all tickets were honored. After a few days of speculation as to whose tickets would be honored, the event was moved to the larger David H. The Lincoln Center event was surrounded by controversy, when tickets were sold a day before they were supposed to and resold the next day, thus double-booking the seats. There were several promotional events for the book, including appearances by Rowling at The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival on October 6, Lincoln Center in New York City on October 16, and the Lennoxlove Book Festival in Scotland on November 2. In the novel's case, Barry Fairbrother was a member of the Parish Council, whose sudden death causes a casual vacancy and therefore an election to fill his space. They arise through the death, resignation, or disqualification of a sitting member. For two years, the working title was Responsible, until Rowling came across the term 'casual vacancy,' which in politics means a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly is vacated during that assembly's term. Rowling responded, 'I'm a writer, and I will write what I want to write.' The novel deals with many adult themes, such as drugs, sex, infidelity, abuse, self-harm, and suicide. Critics feared that children would be drawn to the book because of the author, despite it being inappropriate for a young age. Rowling made it very clear that the novel was adult literature. I had it with Harry Potter and I had it with this. It's a rush of adrenaline, it's chemical. I had that totally physical response you get to an idea that you know will work. 'And I thought: local election! And I just knew.

'Obviously I need to be in some form of vehicle to have a decent idea,' she said. Rowling later joked about how this was similar to her conception of Harry Potter on a train to London. Rowling first had the idea on a flight to the US while on tour for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The book won the Best Fiction category in the 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards and was hailed by TIME Magazine. It became the 15th best-selling book of 2012 during its first week of release, and in three weeks the book's total sales topped one million copies in English in all formats.

The novel was the fastest-selling in the UK in three years. The Casual Vacancy was published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book group.

Harry potter and the casual vacancy