A SPOOF of JK Rowling's first novel for adults is to go on sale amid fears it will cause confusion in bookshops.

Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, which is set in an English village called Pagford and starts with the discovery of a dead body, will be published by Little, Brown on September 27.

However, two weeks before that, Pan MacMillan will publish a spoof called The Vacant Casualty by Bruno Vincent, writing under the pen-name Patty O'Furniture.

Philippa Hardy, a spokeswoman for Pan MacMillan, said the publisher was not trying to steal the Harry Potter author's thunder and thought readers would be able to tell the difference.

"I hope she will see it in the light in which it's meant rather than anything negative," said Ms Hardy.

"The titles are very similar so if you are hearing about them on the radio you might get a bit confused. But the covers look very different and the pseudonym is so silly that any confusion should be undone."

However, David Godwin of the literary agency David Godwin Associates said there was potential for confusion. "That's not impossible," he said. "If I was JK Rowling's agent, I think I would do everything I could to keep this book out of the way."