Bloomsbury and Scholastic have announced that the much anticipated illustrated version of Harry Potter’s fifth adventure is set to be published on 11th October. Not only does this edition once again bring together the extraordinary talents of J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay, but also features award-winning illustrator Neil Packer.

Order of the Phoenixhas been a mammoth task and nearly two years in the making. As the project unfolded, Jim decided that it was time to bring in guest collaborator and dear friend, Neil Packer, to help bring the story to life. As Jim said:

‘Illustrating Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was always going to be a challenge; the scale of the book meant for a huge variety of characters and locations to choose from. It was a great privilege to have Neil Packer helping with this daunting task. As a fan of his work it was wonderful to see his illustrations appear in the text, and so nice to be working with him in the team. He is perfect for Potter.’

Neil Packer adds: ‘As both a friend and a colleague it was an honour to be asked to work alongside Jim Kay on this book. Jim has invested so much in this series already and I was very conscious of not wanting to encroach on the stunning work which only he can do. The sheer scale of this book and the wonderful richness of imagination within the writing perhaps left space for a second approach and it has been a great joy and a challenge to try and work in harmony with Jim’s pictures and to visualise some of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world.’

Neil is a well-renowned illustrator in his own right, and his distinctive artwork has been woven through the book complementing Jim’s narrative scenes. One example of his exquisite artwork is this beautiful imagining of Firenze’s Divination classroom.