--- title: J.K. Rowling's History of Magic in North America: Part 1 description: In order to set the scene for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, J.K. Rowling is gifting fans with four new short stories. canonical: https://time.com/4250848/j-k-rowling-new-story-history-of-magic-in-north-america-part-1/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-08T16:43:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:30:47.239Z og:title: Here's What J.K. Rowling Told Us About American Wizards in Her New Story og:description: It explores four centuries of magic in North America og:url: https://time.com/4250848/j-k-rowling-new-story-history-of-magic-in-north-america-part-1/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92d90a6499e80636/69888a150b72e37e2a6e8720/j-k-rowling.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Author J.K. Rawling Visits The Empire State Building og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's What J.K. Rowling Told Us About American Wizards in Her New Story twitter:description: It explores four centuries of magic in North America twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92d90a6499e80636/69888a150b72e37e2a6e8720/j-k-rowling.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What J.K. Rowling Told Us About American Wizards in Her New Story > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. 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Founder and President of Lumos and Patron of Lumos USA/ Author J.K. Rowling ceremoniously lights the Empire State Building in Lumos colors of purple, blue and white to mark the US launch of her non-profit organization at The Empire State Building on April 9, 2015 in New York City. Cindy Ord/Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Mar 8, 2016 4:43 PM UTC In order to set the scene for [_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_](http://time.com/4145643/harry-potter-prequel-fantastic-beasts-trailer/), a _Harry Potter_ prequel film set in 1920s New York City, author [J.K. Rowling](http://time.com/4248548/jk-rowling-chair-auction-harry-potter/) is gifting fans with [four new stories](http://time.com/4250777/jk-rowling-new-story-american-wizards/). Titled _The History of Magic in North America_, the online tales will detail the evolution of the previously unexplored North American wizarding world. The first installment of the series, “[Fourteenth Century – Seventeenth Century](https://www.pottermore.com/collection-episodic/history-of-magic-in-north-america-en),” was published on Rowling’s interactive website [Pottermore](https://www.pottermore.com/collection-episodic/history-of-magic-in-north-america-en) Tuesday and explores the origins of the magical community in “the New World.” Rowling begins by clarifying that European and African witches and wizards were in contact with their North American brethren long before the country was colonized by European No-Majs (the [American term for Muggles](http://time.com/4100365/jk-rowling-harry-potter-fantastic-beasts-muggle/)) in the 1600s. She goes on to discuss Native American magic, explaining that many witches and wizards were revered by their tribes for their healing and hunting abilities. Some Native American legends — such as that of ‘skin walkers’ — were even borne from wizarding lore. **Read More:** [J.K. Rowling Will Reveal America’s Magical History in 4 New Stories](http://time.com/4249113/j-k-rowling-new-stories-history-of-magic-in-north-america/) Rowling ends by stating that the biggest difference between new and old world magic was that Native Americans were masters of wandless magic. “The magic wand originated in Europe. Wands channel magic so as to make its effects both more precise and more powerful, although it is generally held to be a mark of the very greatest witches and wizards that they have also been able to produce wandless magic of a very high quality,” she writes. “As the Native American Animagi and potion-makers demonstrated, wandless magic can attain great complexity, but Charms and Transfiguration are very difficult without one.” The second part of the series will go live at 2 p.m. GMT on Wednesday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4250848/j-k-rowling-new-story-history-of-magic-in-north-america-part-1/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4250848/j-k-rowling-new-story-history-of-magic-in-north-america-part-1/"},"headline":"Here's What J.K. 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