Best-selling author and award-winning artist Brian Selznick has reimagined all seven Harry Potter books with his inimitable black and white drawing style, with jewel-toned typography – all to celebrate 20 years since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released in the US.
Sharp-eyed readers will spot intricate details throughout the artwork, such as Hermione’s Time-Turner, Harry’s Patronus, the maze from the Triwizard Tournament, and the Hogwarts Express steaming toward a new school year with the next generation on board.
Together, the seven covers form one glorious single image too – telling Harry’s story from his arrival at Privet Drive to the Battle of Hogwarts.
Selznick, best known for his novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, spoke about his work on the covers, calling the opportunity an ‘absolute honour.'
‘I’m a huge Harry Potter fan (a proud Hufflepuff!) and to be asked to illustrate the 20th anniversary edition covers was an absolute honour’, Brian said.
‘I knew this project came with so much responsibility to the stories, as well as to the readers. I revisited the books and was especially moved by the relationships between the characters in J.K. Rowling’s magical world, so I wanted these covers to reflect that.’
‘One of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of the process was drawing seven independent covers that would stand on their own, while making sure that they also lined up to create one single satisfying image. It took dozens and dozens of sketches to get it right, and I am thrilled to share my great love for the books with these new illustrations.’
This is just the first of the US celebrations to commemorate 20 years since the first Harry Potter book: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opens on Broadway on 22 April, while the British Library’s exhibition, Harry Potter: A History of Magic, transfers to the New-York Historical Society on 5 October.
Oh, and a little film you might have heard of, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, will be out 16 November in cinemas worldwide.
Selznick's new interpretations of the Harry Potter books will be published in paperback in the US on 26 June. For more information, go to the Scholastic website.