J. K. Rowling

**Joanne  Rowling** , ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), writing under the pen names **J. K. Rowling** and **Robert Galbraith**, is a British writer. She wrote the _Harry Potter_ books. She only uses the name **J. K. Rowling** for her books: the "K" stands for "Kathleen", which was the first name of her grandmother.

## Early and personal life

Rowling was born 31 July 1965 at Chipping Sodbury Cottage Hospital in Chipping Sodbury, Yate, Gloucesterhire England. She grew up in Tutshill, Gloucestershire, and went to school at Wyedean Comprehensive. She earned a degree in French and Classics at the University of Exeter. She worked at Amnesty International in London in 1990.

The original idea for Harry Potter came to her on a train that was delayed for four hours in 1990. She moved to Portugal to teach English in the same year.

She married Jorge Arantes in October 1992. They had her first child, Jessica in 1993. The marriage ended in divorce and Rowling moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ (British version) (American version: _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_) was first published in the United Kingdom in 1997. She married Dr. Neil Murray in 2001. She had a second child, David, in 2003, and a third, Mackenzie, in January 2005.

Rowling claims to have been inspired by Christianity.

Rowling has received strong criticism for her outspoken public views on matters around transgender people, which she started to talk about in 2020.

## Her books

Rowling has won many awards for the Harry Potter series of books and has earned over $1 billion. The last book of the series, _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,_ was released on 21 July 2007. Due to the popularity of the books, Rowling has become very wealthy. The books have sold over 500 million copies. Rowling has written many books about the magic in Harry's world, such as 'Quidditch Through the Ages' and 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. Additionally, she has written other books targeting adults, the first of which is called _The Casual Vacancy_. _The Cuckoo's Calling_ was published in April 2013, under the pen name Robert Galbraith, and its sequel, called _The Silkworm,_ followed in June 2014. In 2016, people made an eighth book inspired by _Harry Potter._ This book was called _Harry Potter and the Cursed Child._ The book was the script for a play.

## Summary

J K Rowling's novels feature a teenage boy named Harry Potter who grows up in a normal world with his aunt, uncle and cousin Dudley. When he is eleven years old, he discovers that he is a wizard and attends a magical academy called Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, where Albus Dumbledore is headmaster. Harry discovers his past about a dark wizard and with the help from his best friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, he attempts to destroy the darkest wizard of all time, Voldemort, once and for all.  He go's through a series of challenges with his friends,  but in the end they defeat the darkest wizard.

### _Harry Potter_ series

1. _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ (26 June 1997 (UK), 9 January 1998 (US))
1. _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_ (2 July 1998 (UK), 6 February 1999 (US))
1. _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_ (8 July 1999 (UK), 9 August 1999 (US))
1. _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_ (7 July 2000)
1. _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ (21 June 2003)
1. _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_ (16 July 2005)
1. _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ (21 July 2007)

### Other books

- _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ (supplement to the _Harry Potter_ series) (2001)
- _Quidditch Through the Ages_ (supplement to the _Harry Potter_ series) (2001)
- _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ (supplement to the _Harry Potter_ series) (2007)
- _Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Script of new Play) (2016)_
- _The Casual Vacancy_ (An 'adult' book. Her first novel that wasn't in the _Harry Potter_ universe) (2012)
- _The Cuckoo's Calling_ (A crime fiction novel written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith) (2013)
- _The Silkworm_ (A crime fiction novel written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith) (2014)

### Articles

- "The First It Girl: J.K. Rowling reviews _Decca: the Letters of Jessica Mitford_ ed by Peter Y Sussman", _The Daily Telegraph_ 26 July 2006
- Introduction to "Ending Child Poverty" in _Moving Britain Forward. Selected Speeches 1997–2006_ by Gordon Brown, Bloomsbury (2006)
- Foreword to the anthology _Magic_, edited by Gil McNeil and Sarah Brown, Bloomsbury (2002)
- The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination, J.K. Rowling, Harvard Magazine, 5 June 2008
- Foreword to "Harry, A History", written by Melissa Anelli, Pocket (2008)

## Other websites

- JK Rowling net worth

## Infobox (writer)

- **name**: J. K. Rowling
- **image**: J. K. Rowling 2010.jpg
- **caption**: Rowling at the White House in 2010
- **birth name**: Joanne Rowling
- **birth place**: Yate, Gloucestershire, England
- **nationality**: British
- **education**: University of Exeter (1986, BA)
- **occupation**: Novelist, philanthropist, film producer, television producer, screenwriter
- **period**: 1997–present
- **genre**: Fantasy, drama, young adult fiction, tragicomedy, crime fiction
- **notableworks**: _Harry Potter_ series
- **children**: 3
- **signature**: JKRowlingsignature.png