About J.K Rowling:
Joanne Rowling, CH, OBE, FRSL, FRCPE was born on 31st July, 1965, who writes under the pen names J.K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith. He is a British novelist, film and television producer, screenwriter and philanthropist, best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold more than 400 million copies. They have become the best-selling book series in history and been the basis for a series of films, over which Rowling had overall approval on the scripts and was a producer on the final films in the series. She was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, Rowling was working as a researcher and blingual secretary for Amnesty international when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series while on delayed train from Manchester for London in 1990. The 2016 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling’s fortune at $600 million, ranking her as the joint 197th richest person in the UK. Time Magazine named her as a runner up for its 2007 person of the year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fans. In October 2010, Rowling was named in the list of the most influential woman in Britain by leading magazine editors. She has supported charities including Comic Relief, One Parent Families, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Lumos.
Harry Potter:
In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on an old manual typewriter. Upon the enthusiastic response of Bryony Evens, a reader who had been asked to review the book’s first three chapters, the Fulham-based Christopher little literary agents agreed to represent Rowling in her quest for a publisher. The book was published to twelve publishing houses, all of which rejected the manuscript. A year later she was finally given the green light by Editor Barry Cunnisgham from Bloomsbury, a publishing house in London. The decision to publish Rowling’s book owes much to Alice Newton, the eight year old daughter of Bloomsbury’s chairman who was given the first chapter to review by her father and immediately demanded the next. The sequel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was published in July 1998 and again Rowling won the smarties prize. In December 1999, the third novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, won the Smarties Prize, making Rowling the first person to win the award three times running. The fourth book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released simultaneously in the UK and the US on 8th July 2000 and broke sales records in both countries. Rowling said that she had a crisis while writing the novel and had to rewrite one chapter many times to fix the problem with the plot. Rowling was named Author of the year in the 2000 British Book Awards.
Facts about J.K Rowling:
- JK Rowling and Harry Potter share the same birthday on July 31st
- She wrote her initial Harry Potter ideas on a napkin while on a train to London
- The original Harry Potter manuscript was rejected by 12 publishing houses before Bloomsbury picked it up
- JK Rowling was awarded an order of the British Empire in 2001
- She filled five notebook pages with made up “Q” words before she came up with “Quidditch”
- Her real name is Joanne Rowling and full name is Jowling Kowling Rowling. She has no middle name and instead borrowed the “k” from her grandmother, Kathleen
- JK Rowling went from being unemployed to becoming a multi-millionaire in five years
- She published her first book for adults, The CASUAL VACANCY, in 2012
- In 2013, She released a crime novel under the pen name “Robert Galbraith”
- JK Rowling’s parents met at King’s Cross Station, where Harry takes the Hogwarts express each year