Rowling announces 'The Casual Vacancy'

It may lack wizards and witches, but J.K. Rowling and her publisher are hoping her first novel for adults, "The Casual Vacancy," will have the magic touch.

The book's title was announced Thursday by Little, Brown & Co. along with a brief plot synopsis and publication date, The Associated Press reports.

The publisher said the "blackly comic" tale of rivalry and duplicity in a small English town would be available worldwide on Sept. 27.

The book will be Rowling's first post-Potter effort. Her seven-volume saga about the adventures of a boy wizard became one of the most successful fictional series in history. The new book, aimed at a grown-up audience, will be set in a seemingly idyllic English town called Pagford which is described as far more menacing than its pretty facade would indicate.

The publisher said the 480-page novel will be sold as an e-book and audio download as well as in traditional hardcover form.