An Illustrated Charity Edition of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Prequel
§ 1
The proposal
I am seeking permission to publish the complete text of J. K. Rowling’s short Harry Potter prequel in its original English, in a single print run of 100 individually numbered copies for sale worldwide. The edition would be produced in Argentina to raise funds for Hospital Garrahan, a public children’s hospital in Buenos Aires. Each copy sold would generate a US$100 donation, for a total of US$10,000 if all 100 copies sell.
I would lead the project independently in my own name and oversee its editorial development, production, sales and fundraising. The edition would give collectors a standalone print edition of the complete story, with original artwork created for this project.
§ 2
The edition and its illustrators
The story would be presented across six loose sheets, each measuring 420 × 297 mm when open (A3 landscape) and folding once to 210 × 297 mm (A4 portrait). The sheets would be housed in a rigid cloth-covered portfolio sized to fit the folded sheets. Each sheet would open to reveal a scene, with the text hand-lettered directly into the illustration. A single flat A4 sheet carrying an introduction would sit on top.
Fig. 1
The portfolio
A rigid portfolio covered in midnight-blue book cloth, sized to fit the folded sheets.
Preliminary interior, 220 × 305 × 10 mm
Fig. 2
Opened
The cover lifts away to show the sheets lying loose inside, each story sheet folded once to A4 portrait.
Fig. 3
Six sheets and an introduction
The story is presented across six sheets, read in order from I to VI, beneath a single flat A4 sheet of introduction.
Folded, 210 × 297 mm
Fig. 4
Each sheet opens to reveal a scene
A single fold opens to A3 landscape, with the text hand-lettered directly into the illustration.
Open, 420 × 297 mm
The six sheets would be drawn by illustrators working in Argentina. I would act as editor, setting a shared approach to layout and lettering at the outset so that different hands read as one continuous story.
I have had first conversations with illustrators, but I would not ask anyone to commit, or to begin drawing, before permission exists. Once it does, the proposed artists and their portfolios would come to you for review before any work is commissioned.
Dolores Avendaño, who illustrated the original Spanish-language covers of all seven Harry Potter novels, is a personal friend, and we have worked together before. I would like her to be part of this edition; what form that takes is something I would settle with her once permission is in place.
§ 3
Hospital Garrahan
Hospital Garrahan is Argentina’s national referral centre for complex paediatric care and one of Latin America’s leading children’s hospitals.1 It is a publicly funded hospital in Buenos Aires that provides care free of charge to patients.2 Children and their families travel from across Argentina and neighbouring South American countries to receive specialised treatment there.3
Children are referred to Garrahan by their own doctors when they need highly complex care.2 More than 4,200 people work at the hospital, which each year carries out over 630,000 consultations, close to 10,000 operations and more than 100 transplants. It runs the largest public vaccination centre in Argentina, coordinates the national paediatric telehealth programme, and is home to the first blood bank in the country and the region supplied entirely by voluntary donors.1
Public funding pays for that care; donations from the community extend what the hospital can do. Through Fundación Garrahan, they have bought advanced equipment for treatment and research, built a clinical simulation centre where staff train, and refurbished spaces such as the burns unit and the surgical centre. They also reach families directly, providing home oxygen and other support equipment, and helping with the cost of the journey home after treatment.1
I have raised funds for Garrahan on several earlier occasions. The hospital has always been welcoming and grateful, and the public response has been warm each time: its work is valued throughout Argentina. This edition is intended as one more contribution of that kind.
§ 4
Pricing, sales and approvals
Per copyAmount
Estimated cost of producing and selling a copyUS$50
Proposed retail priceUS$150
Donation to benefit Hospital GarrahanUS$100
The retail price would be set at the final cost of each copy plus a fixed US$100 donation. That cost covers everything involved in making and selling a copy, including production and payment processing, so that a full US$100 remains for Hospital Garrahan from every copy sold. If costs come in below the estimate, the retail price would fall accordingly. The project would be run on a cost-recovery basis, with no profit or remuneration for the organisers. I would personally cover any other project expenses, including agreed illustration fees.
To raise more, one or more special copies, signed by the artists involved, could be sold at auction, with the proceeds also going to the hospital.
Collectors worldwide would be able to order through a website dedicated exclusively to the edition. Shipping would be charged separately at checkout. I would confirm the donation arrangements before opening sales and provide The Blair Partnership with a final statement of copies sold, the amount raised and proof of transfer.
The requested publishing permission would cover this single physical edition. The website would display only the excerpts and images approved for sale and promotion. I would submit the proposed illustrators and sample artwork for review, then provide the finished sheets, portfolio design, credits and promotional materials for approval before production and launch.
Copies would of course be set aside for J. K. Rowling and for The Blair Partnership. The copyright line and credits would be worded as you direct, and I would commit explicitly to this being the only printing, with no reprint and no digital edition.
§ 5
About me
I am a collector and student of J. K. Rowling’s work, and for years I directed The Rowling Library, which published 100 issues of its magazine between 2016 and 2025. I am the author of Historia Secreta del Mundo Mágico (Numeral, 2018), published in English as Secret History of the Wizarding Phenomenon, and of Ghost Plots (TRL Books, 2026).
I have carried similar projects through successfully. For the 25th anniversary of the first Spanish-language publication of Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal, I worked with Dolores Avendaño on ten numbered copies of the original Emecé edition, each with an original colour illustration drawn into the book by her. All ten were sold to collectors.
This edition would be entirely independent. It would have no connection to The Rowling Library, to my books or to any of my earlier projects.
§ 6
In closing
I would be grateful for the chance to discuss this proposal with you, and to know whether permission for an edition of this kind could be considered.
I am open to any criticism or suggested change. If any part of what is set out here does not sit well with you, I would much rather adapt it than see the project stop there.