1 August 2012 Last updated at 14:31 ET

JK Rowling to appear at Cheltenham Literature Festival‎

JK Rowling will be discussing her first adult novel 'The Casual Vacancy' at the festival

Harry Potter author JK Rowling is to appear at the 2012 Cheltenham Literature Festival, the annual event's organisers have announced.

Rowling, who was raised in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, will be talking about her first adult novel The Casual Vacancy.

She tweeted that the novel was "very different to Harry, although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much".

She will be speaking at Cheltenham Racecourse on 6 October.

More than 450 million copies of Rowling's seven Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide.

The novels, about a boy wizard who survives the attack that kills his parents, became a worldwide phenomenon and were turned into eight blockbuster films.

The new book is "very different" from the writer's previous material.

Set in the small town of Pagford, the novel is described by the publisher as being "blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising".

Jane Furze, literature festival director at Cheltenham Festivals, said: "The Casual Vacancy has been one of the most talked about books of the year and we very much look forward to hosting this wonderful event."

Tickets for the festival go on sale from 20 August.