Unlike the profits from the novels in the core Harry Potter series, the proceeds from Beedle the Bard are going to an east European children's charity chaired by Rowling, called the Children's High Level Group. Based on a European commission-backed organisation of the same name run by MEP Emma Nicholson to coordinate efforts to rehome 100,000 Romanian children kept in appalling conditions in state institutions, the charity focuses on rebuilding children's services in five east European countries.

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Rowling said she hoped the new book would "not only be a welcome present to Harry Potter fans, but an opportunity to give these abandoned children a voice. It will encourage young people across the world to think about those who are less fortunate, and help change many young lives for the better."

About 20 local school children, selected by ballot, will be invited to attend the special charity launch at which Rowling will read extracts from the book, published by The Children's High Level Group (CHLG), the charity co-founded by Rowling and Emma Nicholson MEP, in collaboration with Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon.

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There will be three editions of The Tales of Beedle the Bard in the English language – mass market versions printed and distributed by Bloomsbury in the UK and Scholastic in the US, and a run of up to 100,000 collector's edition copies printed and distributed by Amazon. To date, 23 foreign language publications are confirmed.