Harry Potter to become free worldwide before HBO series debuts in December. Check how to get access, new poster, streaming details

Harry Potter fans are in for a treat as they return to the Wizarding World and that too for free. All seven of the Harry Potter audiobooks will be available for free worldwide starting from December. This announcement comes just weeks before HBO’s new TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series starts streaming online.

The audiobook project will let readers and listeners enjoy all seven books with a large voice cast.

How to get Harry Potter audiobooks for free

According to Collider, Pottermore Publishing confirmed that all seven Harry Potter Full-Cast Audio Editions will be made available through participating public libraries worldwide. Readers will be able to borrow them without paying for individual audiobook purchases.


The rollout of the audiobooks will be done in three phases with the first three books, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to be published on December 1.

The next two titles, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, will be released on January 5, 2027. The last two books, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be released on February 2.

Availability depends on participating public libraries.

Who voices Harry Potter, Dumbledore and Voldemort?

The full-cast editions include a number of well-known actors. Cush Jumbo reads the audiobooks, with Hugh Laurie as Albus Dumbledore, Matthew Macfadyen as Lord Voldemort, Riz Ahmed as Severus Snape, Kit Harington as Gilderoy Lockhart and Keira Knightley as Dolores Umbridge.

The three main characters also have different voice actors across the collection. Harry, Ron and Hermione are voiced by Frankie Treadaway, Max Lester and Arabella Stanton in the first three books. Jaxon Knopf, Rhys Mulligan and Nina Barker-Francis take up the parts from Goblet of Fire.

HBO Harry Potter series: Release date and streaming details

The free audiobook announcement comes ahead of HBO's television adaptation, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

The series will release globally on HBO on December 25, 2026 but in India, it will stream on JioHotstar from December 26.

The first season will have eight episodes, with all eight expected to arrive together rather than following a weekly release schedule.

Dominic McLaughlin is playing Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton is Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout will appear as Ron Weasley. The supporting cast members include John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Snape and Nick Frost as Hagrid.

What does the first HBO poster reveal?

HBO has also unveiled the first official poster for the series. The artwork features a close-up of Harry that focuses on his lightning-shaped scar and glasses. Hogwarts Castle can be seen reflected in his glasses.


The poster has already led to discussions among fans on X, with some people talking about the green flash on Harry's lens and wondering whether it references Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse.