We take a sneak peek at Jim Kay and guest collaborator Neil Packer’s illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – packed full of your favourite characters, places and so much more.

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 Phoenix: Illustrated edition releases the 11th of October

If you take a close look at the incredible jacket illustration you will see Dumbledore’s Army practising their Patronus skills. Can you spot Hermione summoning her silvery otter? Or Harry and Cho watching her swan soar above the Room of Requirement?

The cover of the illustrated edition of Order of the Phoenix. Harry, Cho and Hermione are in the Room of Requirement. Hermione and Cho are casting their Patronuses.

And inside the wonder continues with Jim’s fantastic illustration of Harry’s Ministry hearing that captures the dark and tense atmosphere.

An illustration of Harry and Dumbledore at Harry's Ministry hearing. Harry is at in the chair and Dumbledore is next to him.

And his colourful depiction of Luna and Neville that beautifully demonstrates both of their personalities, not to mention Luna’s famous Butterbeer cork necklace.

Luna and Neville sat on the Hogwarts Express. Luna is reading The Quibbler upside down and Neville is holding Trevor.

As well as the iconic Grimmauld Place, where number 12 lurks hidden away from Muggle eyes.

An illustration of Grimmauld place where number twelve is revealed

As the meticulously detailed artwork shows, this illustrated version of the Order of the Phoenix has 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.

An illustration of Firenze's Divination classroom

These are just snippets of the exciting illustrations set to feature in this edition. You can expect to see so much more, from Jim Kay’s portrait of Dolores Umbridge and stunning visualisation of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries to Neil Packer’s cutaway of the Ministry of Magic and beautifully drawn magical objects.

And if this fantastic edition isn’t enough, a gorgeous, cloth-bound Deluxe Illustrated Edition will publish simultaneously with a foiled slipcase, gilt-edges and an exclusive pull-out extra inside.

If you are in the UK, you can click here to order this illustrated edition on Bloomsbury’s website.

If you’re in the US, you can order from the Scholastic website here.