Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

J.K. Rowling

Nov 2016 · Fantastic Beasts Book 1 · Sold by Pottermore Publishing

About this eBook

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone...


Inspired by the original Hogwart’s textbook by Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original screenplay marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. A feat of imagination and featuring a cast of remarkable characters and magical creatures, this is epic adventure-packed storytelling at its very best. Whether an existing fan or new to the wizarding world, this is a perfect addition for any film lover or reader’s bookshelf.


The film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will have its theatrical release on 18th November 2016.

Ratings and reviews

Because of the fact that this is a screenplay, it feels like it's a bit different from the novel itself. But still, it's very good to read. J.K Rowling didn't disappoint the readers when she turned into screenplay writer. I totally love this book.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling is exactly that, a screenplay of the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016). This movie/screenplay storyline is inspired by the textbook of the same name that was released in 2001 also by J.K. Rowling (Part of the Hogwarts Library Series). Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a bestiary of magical creatures from the Harry Potter universe and proceeds from the sale of the original textbook version go to Comic Relief. With all that out of the way - this screenplay was a fantastic (see what I did there?) read. Having seen the movie first it was like watching it all over again but in my mind. The scene descriptions, the dialogue, everything was just like the movie. It was a quick and enjoyable read and if there are future screenplay versions of the next four Fantastic Beast movies made available I will definitely be interested in reading them also.

People, if you want to watch the movie, then watch the movie. This is very unlike having the pride of reading the book and having more details on the story at hand, this is literally the playwright for the movie. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY, AND TRUE POTTER FANS, STOP GIVING THIS 5 STARTS! I love JK, but people deserve to know!

About the author

J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular, era-defining Harry Potter book series, as well as several stand-alone novels and a crime fiction series written under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

After the idea for Harry Potter came to her on a delayed train journey in 1990, she plotted out and wrote the series of seven books and the first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in the UK in 1997. Smash hit movie adaptations followed, with the last of the eight films, Deathly Hallows Part 2, released in 2011. The Harry Potter books have now sold over 600 million copies worldwide and been translated into over 80 languages. They continue to be discovered and loved by new generations of readers.

To accompany the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling wrote three short volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos; and The Tales of Beedle the Bard in aid of her non-profit children's organisation Lumos.

One of these companion volumes inspired the Fantastic Beasts film series, begun in 2016, with screenplays written or co-written by Rowling.

Also in 2016, she collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry's story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

J.K. Rowling's stand-alone novels include The Casual Vacancy, which was published in 2012. Writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she is the author of the highly acclaimed 'Strike' series, featuring private detectives Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott.

In 2020 she returned to publishing for younger children with her fairy tale The Ickabog, which was initially serialised for free online for children during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Christmas Pig, an adventure story about a boy's love for his most treasured toy and how far he will go to find it, was published in 2021 and was a bestseller in the UK, USA and Europe.

As well as receiving an OBE and Companion of Honour for services to children's literature, J. K. Rowling has received many other awards and honours, including France's Legion d'Honneur, Spain's Prince of Asturias Award and Denmark's Hans Christian Andersen Award. In 2020, Jo received a British Book Award, recognising Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as the most important book of the last thirty years.

She supports humanitarian causes through her charitable trust, Volant, and is also the founder and president of Lumos, an international children's charity fighting for every child's right to a family by transforming care systems around the world.