a biography about jk rowling

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J.K.Rowling Biography

J.K Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury, July 31st, 1965. Her childhood was generally happy, although she does remember getting teased because of her name, “Rowling” – She recalls often getting called “Rowling pin” by her less than ingenious school friends. J.K. Rowling says she never really warmed to her own name, although, she does remember having a fondness for the name Potter from quite an early age. J.K.Rowling studied at St Michael’s Primary School in Gloucestershire, before moving to Chepstow, South Wales at the age of nine.

From an early age, J.K. Rowling had the ambition to be a writer. She often tried her hand at writing, although little came from her early efforts. Aged six she wrote a book about a rabbit with measles. After her mother praised her effort. Rowling replied ‘well get it published then.’ She admits it was a ‘Bit of an odd thing for a child of six to think. I don’t know where it came from…”

In her own autobiography, she remembers with great fondness, when her good friend Sean became the first person to give her the confidence that one day she would be able to make a very good writer.

“he was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time” (1)

Sean was also the owner of a battered old Ford Anglia, which would later appear in one of the Harry Potter series as a flying car.

After having spent a year in Paris, J.K.Rowling graduated from university and took various jobs in London. One of her favourite jobs was working for Amnesty International; the charity, which campaigns against human rights abuses throughout the world. Amnesty International, is one of the many charities, which J.K.Rowling has generously supported since she attained a new found wealth.

It was in 1990 that J.K.Rowling first conceived of the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls, it was on a long train journey from Manchester to London when she began forming in her mind, the characters of the series. At the forefront, was a young boy, at that time not aware that he was a wizard. The train was delayed for over four hours, but she didn’t have a pen and was too shy to ask for one nothing,

“To my immense frustration, I didn’t have a pen that worked, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one.”

But she remembers being very enthusiastic, and excited about the ideas which were filling her mind.

On arriving at her flat in Clapham Junction, she began work on writing the book immediately, although, it would take several years to come to fruition.

It was also in December of 1990 that J.K.Rowling lost her mother, who died of Multiple Sclerosis. J.K.Rowling was very close to her mother, and she felt the loss deeply. Her own loss gave an added poignancy to the death of Harry Potter’s mother in her book. She says her favourite scene in the Philosopher’s Stone is, The Mirror of Erised, where Harry sees his parents in the mirror.

In 1991, J.K.Rowling left England to get a job as an English teacher in Portugal. It was here that she met her first husband, Jorge Arantes – and together they had a child Jessica. However, after a couple of years, the couple split after a fierce argument; where by all accounts J.K.Rowling was thrown out of the house.

In Dec 1993, Rowling returned to the UK, moving to Edinburgh where she tried to finish her first book. She was surviving on state benefits and bringing up her daughter as a single parent. She would often go to Edinburgh cafes to work on the book whilst her child had a nap.

Eventually, she finished her first copy of “ The Philosopher’s Stone ”, and sent it off to various agents. She found an agent, Christopher, who spent over a year trying to get a publisher. It was rejected by 12 major publishing houses. But, eventually, a quite small publisher, Bloomsbury agreed to take the book on. The editor Barry Cunningham also agreed to pay her an advance of £1500. The decision to take on the book was, in large part, due to his eight-year-old daughter’s enthusiastic reception of the first chapter (However she was advised to continue her training as a teacher because she was told writers of children’s books don’t tend to get very well paid.)

“There’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place.”

– J.K.Rowling [1]

Within a few weeks of publication, (1996) book sales really started to take off. The initial print run was of only 1,000 – 500 of which went to libraries. First editions are now said to be worth up to £25,000 each. She also received a grant from the Scottish arts council, which enabled her to write full time. After the books initial success in the UK, an American company Scholastic agreed to pay a remarkable £100,000 for the rights to publish in America. In 1998, Warner Bros secured the film rights to the books, giving a seven-figure sum. The films have magnified the success of the books, making Harry Potter into one of the most recognisable media products. Under the close guidance of J.K.Rowling, the films have sought to stay close to the original plot; also at J.K.Rowling’s request, all the actors are British and are filmed in Britain.

On the 21st December 2006, J.K.Rowling finished her final book of the Harry Potter Series – “ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ” (Amazon). The book was released in July 2007, becoming one of the fastest selling books of all time. J.K.Rowling has said the book is her favourite, and it makes her both happy and sad. She has said she will continue writing but there is little chance of continuing the Harry Potter Series. She has published a dictionary of things related to Hogwarts and Harry Potter, that were never published in other books.

Since the end of her Harry Potter series, she says she has finished some short stories, she also hinted on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1st October 2010, that an 8th book in the Harry Potter series is a possibility.

On 27 September 2012, Rowling released the ‘Casual Vacancy’ an adult novel – to mixed reviews. In 2013, The Cuckoo’s Calling was published. Initially, the author was stated as being Robert Galbraith. But, this was a pseudonym used by J.K.Rowling. After her authorship was discovered, sales went through the roof.

J.K.Rowling and Media

J.K.Rowling has sought to protect her children from media intrusion. In 2011, she gave testimony to the Leverson enquiry about how unscrupulous reporters sought to intrude into her family’s privacy. After her books became best-sellers, reporters would often be camped outside her home. J.K. Rowling said:

“However, as interest in Harry Potter and myself increased, my family and I became the target of a different kind of journalistic activity. The effect on me, and our family life, truly cannot be overstated. We were literally driven out of the first house I had ever owned (which faced almost directly onto the street) because of journalists banging on the door, questioning the neighbours and sitting in parked cars immediately outside the gate. Old friendships were tested as journalists turned up on their doorsteps, and offered money for stories on me. “(J.K.Rowling’s Testimony to Leveson Enquiry Nov 2011.)

After finding a letter from a journalist in her child’s satchel, she remarked:

“It’s very difficult to say how angry I felt that my 5-year-old daughter’s school was no longer a place of complete security from journalists.”

J.K.Rowling currently lives in Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay, with her 2nd husband Neil Murray; J.K.Rowling has three children, two with husband Neil.

Inspiration to write

Speaking on a BBC Radio Programme “The Museum of Curiosity”, 23 December 2019, Rowling talked about the process by which she writes. She says she imagines she walks through a forest towards a lake. At the lake, she waits for an inspiration to emerge from its depth. Then she takes this back to her cottage where she has to polish the dream-like inspiration until it is in a fit state to publish. To Rowling, writing is a dual process – gaining inspiration from an unknown source and then working on the inspiration to make it a solid reality. She prefaced the story by saying she was reluctant to explain her process as it was difficult to explain.

Wealth of J.K.Rowling

In 2017, according to Forbes, her estimated wealth stands at $650 million, it would be higher but she has donated substantial sums to charity. The global Harry Potter brand is estimated to be worth £7 billion.

Charity Work of J.K.Rowling

J.K.Rowling has contributed considerable sums to charities she supports. This includes:

• Anti-Poverty . She is President of the Charity – One Parent Families
• Multiple sclerosis . She has contributed money to the research and treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, which her mother suffered from.
• Lumos – helping institutionalised children in Eastern Europe

Political Views

She has publically supported the Labour party. In 2008, she donated £1 million to the Labour party, saying she felt vulnerable families would be better off under a Labour government. She describes her political hero as Robert F.Kennedy.

Religious Views

J.K.Rowling states that she considers herself a Christian, and attends a local Church of Scotland congregation. She said, that unlike other members in her family, she often had a deep interest in religion, and would go to churches alone. However, she also says that although she believes in God, at times she doubts her faith.

“I feel very drawn to religion, but at the same time I feel a lot of uncertainty. I live in a state of spiritual flux. I believe in the permanence of the soul.”

– J.K.Rowling (2008, interview in El Pais – a Spanish Newspaper)

More facts about J.K. Rowling

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. “ Biography J.K. Rowling” , Oxford, UK.  www.biographyonline.net – 12th Dec. 2016, Last Updated. 6th 28 December 2019.

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J. K. Rowling

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J. K. Rowling was born in 1965, and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent. She studied at Exeter University, where she gained a French and Classics degree, and where her course included one year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London to work at Amnesty International, doing research into human rights abuses in Francophone Africa.

She started writing the Harry Potter series during a Manchester to London King's Cross train journey, and during the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first novel.

This first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), was an unprecedented success. The novels in the series which have succeeded it have topped bestseller lists, won numerous awards, and been translated into over sixty languages. Worldwide, the Harry Potter books have exceeded sales of 300 million copies.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released as a film in 2001, adapted by Steve Kloves, and an adaptation of the second novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), was released in November 2002. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (directed by Alfonso Cuaron) followed in 2004, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , directed by Mike Newell, was released in November 2005 in the UK and US. The subsequent film adaptations - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , and the two-parter Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - were directed by David Yates and released between 2007 and 2011.

J. K. Rowling's initial aim was to write seven books in the Harry Potter series. The fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,  was published in 2003, and the sixth, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, in 2005. The final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , was published in 2007. She has also written two small volumes which appear as the titles of Harry's school books within the novels - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through The Ages, which were published in 2001 in aid of Comic Relief.

J. K. Rowling has honorary degrees from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, US, University of Exeter, University of St Andrews, Napier University, Edinburgh, and University of Edinburgh. She was awarded an OBE for her services to children's literature in 2001, and became an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2002. In 2010 she won the Hans Christian Andersen Award and in 2012, she was awarded the Freedom of the City of London.

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series of novels, published between 1997 and 2007, have become the biggest sellers in the history of children’s writing. She founded the children’s charity ‘Lumos’, which aims to end the institutionalisation of children in orphanages worldwide. In November 2013, The Independent newspaper reported that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) topped a poll to find Britain’s favourite children’s book.

Her first novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy , was published in 2012; she also published the crime novels  The Cuckoo's Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015) and Lethal White (2018) under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. In 2016 she collaborated with the playwright Jack Thorne and theatre director John Tiffany; together they created the story for the two-part play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , the script of which was written by Thorne.

Critical perspective

In the opening scene of harry potter and the philosopher’s stone (1997), an owl and a cat observe the safe arrival of an orphan baby at the door of the dursley family of number four, privet drive, little whinging, in surrey. the owl is headmaster dumbledore of hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, while the cat is professor mcgonagall, who re-assumes human form to declare of baby harry: ‘every child in our world will know his name’ could any author have ever written a more prophetic sentence its meaning unfolds over the course of seven volumes of epic adventures for the schoolboy wizard in the world of magic - and of course is now equally true in our own non-magical world of ‘muggles’. the unprecedented commercial success of the books, several big box-office films, and a great deal of merchandise and publicity have ensured that ‘harry potter’ continues to be one of the most recognizable brand names in the world – and j.k. rowling herself is no doubt the best-known british author worldwide..

The key factor in the ‘Harry Potter’ phenomenon seems in retrospect to have been the eagerness with which adult readers embraced a saga originally intended for the children’s book market. The supreme storytelling qualities of the books, crowded with quirky characters, developing year by school year towards a final climactic conflict between Good and Evil, the witty inventiveness and slyly satirical exchanges; all this, and much more, has vastly entertained readers of all ages and nations. The books have had a marked impact upon the publishing industry, promoting fantasy literature for both children and adults. Perhaps their most beneficial effect has been to make reading a fashionable activity again, whether in private or public. The journalist Allison Pearson commended ‘Harry Potter’ for what she called ‘the dense, knitted, pleasurable sound of children reading’ ( Daily Telegraph,  27 September 2012).

Critics were quick to point out the extent to which the books are indebted to previous classic children’s authors, from Ursula LeGuin to Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton to T.H. White and Tolkien (not forgetting Tom Brown’s Schooldays or Anthony Buckeridge’s amusing ‘Jennings’ books of boarding school life). A less-remarked precedent is the Gothic Novel. Hogwarts after all is a place haunted by ghosts, with monsters in its bowels, moving portraits, disappearing rooms and secret passageways, plus the ever-present threat of Dark Forces. Outside is the Forbidden Forest complete with centaurs, spiders the size of horses, hippogriffs and other magical creatures (the latter under the erratic control of kindly half-giant Hagrid, Harry’s special friend). What sets J.K. Rowling apart, however, is her ability to construct a fantasy realm in fantastic detail, alternate funny and scary episodes, while sustaining readers’ interest to the point of addiction. We really must know what happens in the next chapter, the next book. The years that Rowling reputedly spent in planning the overall architecture of the story were well spent. As author she acts as a good teacher, directing the lessons (we as readers learn wizardry alongside Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione, school bully Draco Malfoy and his cronies), ending each year with a satisfying competition between rival houses or schools.

Such a vast drama requires a good supporting cast: eccentric teachers (Snape, Slughorn, Lupin, Trelawney) and pupils variously appealing or objectionable. The latter naturally grow up over the course of seven years from childhood into teenagers, so romantic entanglements complicate the action of the last few books. Harry himself is attracted to Cho Chang and, more lastingly, to Ginny Weasley. The beauty of Hogwarts as a concept is that it is simultaneously old-fashioned (a steam train from Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross starts each year) and contemporary (in its co-educational and multicultural ethos). Pupils have to pass exams, cope with bullying, and have the latest items from Diagon Alley’s magical shopping. The school itself comes under increasing pressure from the Ministry of Magic.

Harry is the Arthurian hero, guided and protected by Dumbledore (Merlin by analogy) until he is able to undertake his destiny: to avenge the killing of his parents by arch-enemy Lord Voldemort. Essential to the saga is the progressive revelation of Voldemort’s own back-story, his family history, and his ambition: to not only rule the magical world but to defeat death itself. In his evil desires he thus becomes a true tragic hero. The parallels between these two orphans grow ever closer as their final confrontation looms in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007).

We recall that Harry began life in Little Whinging, suburban Surrey, being grudgingly raised for his first ten years by the awful Dursley family. Their grotesque domestic habits and class-conscious obnoxiousness seem to connect with at least some of the inhabitants of Pagford, the ‘picturesque’ village in which Rowling’s first novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy (2012), is centered. But Pagford and its downmarket neighbour Yarvill contain no magic; what they do have is a myriad of serious domestic problems and troubled children. The plot concerns the sudden death of a popular teacher and councillor, Barry Fairbrother, and the machinations that ensue as factions on the local council seek to fill the vacancy to their advantage. It is fair to say that the novel has had a very mixed reception. Some commentators have praised its acute social satire and bold difference from Rowling’s previous fiction. Others, notably Allison Pearson, have called it ‘a shock’ to readers, ‘sometimes funny’ but by the conclusion ‘howlingly bleak’ ( Daily Telegraph , 27 September 2012).

Rowling’s skill at coordinating a large cast of adults and children is again evident. The opening scenes in which news of Fairbrother’s demise spreads around the village, and numerous infidelities revealed, are excellent. The most compelling characters are teenagers: feckless Krystal Weedon, self-harming but plucky Sukwinder, and especially Fats. His arrogant determination to disregard ‘restrictive morality’ and be ‘the baddest of them all’ is somewhat reminiscent of Tom Riddle. Indeed, as Allison Pearson points out, ‘Harry Potter’ too contains evil acts, deaths and sadness but also redemption. Joanne Rowling’s ‘powers of enchantment’ will no doubt be regenerated to enthrall her international readership in future books.

Dr Jules Smith, updated 2013

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My mother and father were both Londoners. They met on a train travelling from King's Cross station to Arbroath in Scotland when they were both eighteen; my father was off to join the Royal Navy, my mother to join the WRNS (the women's equivalent). My mother said she was cold, my father offered her a half share in his coat, and they got married just over a year later, when they were nineteen. Both left the navy and moved to the outskirts of Bristol, in the West of England. My mother gave birth to me when she was twenty. I was a rotund baby. The description in 'Philosopher's Stone' of the photographs of 'what appeared to be a beach ball wearing different coloured bobble hats' would also apply to the pictures of my early years. My sister Di arrived a year and eleven months after me. The day of her birth is my earliest memory, or my earliest datable memory, anyway. I distinctly remember playing with a bit of plasticine in the kitchen while my father rushed in and out of the room, hurrying backwards and forwards to my mother, who was giving birth in their bedroom. I know I didn't invent this memory because I checked the details later with my mother. I also have a vivid mental picture of walking into their bedroom a little while later, hand in hand with my father, and seeing my mother lying in bed in her nightdress next to my beaming sister, who is stark naked with a full head of hair and looks about five years old. Although I clearly pasted together this bizarre false memory out of bits of hearsay when I was a child, it is so vivid that it still comes to mind if I ever think about Di being born.

Di had - and still has - very dark, almost black hair, and dark brown eyes like my mother's, and she was considerably prettier than I was (and she still is). As compensation, I think, my parents decided that I must be 'the bright one'. We both resented our labels. I really wanted to be less freckly-beach-ball-like, and Di, who is now a lawyer, felt justifiably annoyed that nobody had noticed she was not just a pretty face. This undoubtedly contributed to the fact that we spent about three quarters of our childhood fighting like a pair of wildcats imprisoned together in a very small cage. To this day, Di bears a tiny scar just above her eyebrow from the cut I gave her when I threw a battery at her - but I didn't expect to hit her, I thought she'd duck! (This excuse didn't cut much ice with my mother, who was angrier than I had ever seen her). We left the bungalow when I was four and moved to Winterbourne, also on the outskirts of Bristol. Now we lived in a semi-detached house with STAIRS, which prompted Di and I to re-enact, over and over again, a clifftop drama in which one of us would 'dangle' from the topmost stair, holding hands with the other and pleading with them not to let go, offering all manner of bribery and blackmail, until falling to their 'death'. We found this endlessly amusing. I think the last time we played the cliff game was two Christmases ago; my nine-year-old daughter didn't find it nearly as funny as we did. The small amount of time that we didn't spend fighting, Di and I were best friends. I told her a lot of stories and sometimes didn't even have to sit on her to make her stay and listen. Often the stories became games in which we both played regular characters. I was extremely bossy when I stage-managed these long-running plays but Di put up with it because I usually gave her star parts.

There were lots of children around our age living in our new street, among them a brother and sister whose surname was Potter. I always liked their name, whereas I wasn't very fond of my own; 'Rowling' (the first syllable of which is pronounced 'row' as in boat, rather than 'row' as in argument) lent itself to woeful jokes such as 'Rowling stone', 'Rowling pin' and so on. Anyway, the brother has since cropped up in the press claiming to 'be' Harry. His mother has also told reporters that he and I used to dress up as wizards. Neither of these claims is true; in fact, all I remember of the boy in question was that he rode a 'Chopper', which was the bicycle everybody wanted in the seventies, and once threw a stone at Di, for which I hit him hard over the head with a plastic sword (I was the only one allowed to throw things at Di). I enjoyed school in Winterbourne. It was a very relaxed environment; I remember lots of pottery making, drawing and story writing, which suited me perfectly. However, my parents had always harboured a dream of living in the country, and around my ninth birthday we moved for the last time, to Tutshill, a small village just outside Chepstow, in Wales. The move coincided almost exactly with the death of my favourite grandparent, Kathleen, whose name I later took when I needed an extra initial. No doubt the first bereavement of my life influenced my feelings about my new school, which I didn't like at all. We sat all day at roll-top desks facing the blackboard. There were old inkwells set into the desktops. There was a second hole in my desk, which had been gouged out with the point of a compass by the boy who had sat there the year before. He had obviously worked away quietly out of the sight of the teacher. I thought this was a great achievement, and set to work enlarging the hole with my own compass, so that by the time I left that classroom you could comfortably wiggle your thumb through it.

My secondary school, Wyedean, where I went when I was eleven, was the place I met Sean Harris, to whom Chamber of Secrets is dedicated and who owned the original Ford Anglia. He was the first of my friends to learn to drive and that turquoise and white car meant FREEDOM and no more having to ask my father to give me lifts, which is the worst thing about living in the countryside when you are a teenager. Some of the happiest memories of my teenage years involve zooming off into the darkness in Sean's car. He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition to be a writer and he was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time. The worst thing that happened during my teenage years was my mother becoming ill. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which is a disease of the central nervous system, when I was fifteen. Although most people with multiple sclerosis experience periods of remission - when their illness stops progressing for a while, or even improves - Mum was unlucky; from the time of her diagnosis onwards she seemed to become slowly but steadily worse. I think most people believe, deep down, that their mothers are indestructible; it was a terrible shock to hear that she had an incurable illness, but even then, I did not fully realise what the diagnosis might mean.

I left school in 1983 and went to study at the University of Exeter, on the south coast of England. I studied French, which was a mistake; I had succumbed to parental pressure to study 'useful' modern languages as opposed to 'but-where-will-it-lead?' English and really should have stood my ground. On the plus side, studying French meant that I had a year living in Paris as part of my course. After leaving university I worked in London; my longest job was with Amnesty International, the organisation that campaigns against human rights abuses all over the world. But in 1990, my then boyfriend and I decided to move up to Manchester together. It was after a weekend's flat-hunting, when I was travelling back to London on my own on a crowded train, that the idea for Harry Potter simply fell into my head. I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. To my immense frustration, I didn't have a functioning pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me. I think that perhaps if I had had to slow down the ideas so that I could capture them on paper I might have stifled some of them (although sometimes I do wonder, idly, how much of what I imagined on that journey I had forgotten by the time I actually got my hands on a pen).

I began to write 'Philosopher's Stone' that very evening, although those first few pages bear no resemblance at all to anything in the finished book. I moved up to Manchester, taking the swelling manuscript with me, which was now growing in all sorts of strange directions, and including ideas for the rest of Harry's career at Hogwarts, not just his first year. Then, on December 30th 1990, something happened that changed both my world and Harry's forever: my mother died. It was a terrible time. My father, Di and I were devastated; she was only forty five years old and we had never imagined - probably because we could not bear to contemplate the idea - that she could die so young. I remember feeling as though there was a paving slab pressing down upon my chest, a literal pain in my heart. Nine months later, desperate to get away for a while, I left for Portugal, where I had got a job teaching English in a language institute. I took with me the still-growing manuscript of Harry Potter, hopeful that my new working hours (I taught in the afternoon and evening) would lend themselves to pressing on with my novel, which had changed a lot since my mother had died. Now, Harry's feelings about his dead parents had become much deeper, much more real. In my first weeks in Portugal I wrote my favourite chapter in Philosopher's Stone, The Mirror of Erised. I had hoped that when I returned from Portugal I would have a finished book under my arm. In fact, I had something even better: my daughter. I had met and married a Portuguese man, and although the marriage did not work out, it had given me the best thing in my life. Jessica and I arrived in Edinburgh, where my sister Di was living, just in time for Christmas 1994.

I intended to start teaching again and knew that unless I finished the book very soon, I might never finish it; I knew that full-time teaching, with all the marking and lesson planning, let alone with a small daughter to care for single-handedly, would leave me with absolutely no spare time at all. And so I set to work in a kind of frenzy, determined to finish the book and at least try and get it published. Whenever Jessica fell asleep in her pushchair I would dash to the nearest cafe and write like mad. I wrote nearly every evening. Then I had to type the whole thing out myself. Sometimes I actually hated the book, even while I loved it. Finally it was done. I covered the first three chapters in a nice plastic folder and set them off to an agent, who returned them so fast they must have been sent back the same day they arrived. But the second agent I tried wrote back and asked to see the rest of the manuscript. It was far and away the best letter I had ever received in my life, and it was only two sentences long. It took a year for my new agent, Christopher, to find a publisher. Lots of them turned it down. Then, finally, in August 1996, Christopher telephoned me and told me that Bloomsbury had 'made an offer.' I could not quite believe my ears. 'You mean it's going to be published?' I asked, rather stupidly. 'It's definitely going to be published?' After I had hung up, I screamed and jumped into the air; Jessica, who was sitting in her high-chair enjoying tea, looked thoroughly scared. And you probably know what happened next.

J. K. Rowling

Author of the Harry Potter Series

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Who Is J.K. Rowling?

J. K. Rowling is the author of the hugely popular Harry Potter books.

Dates: July 31, 1965 --

Also Known As Joanne Rowling, Jo Rowling

J. K. Rowling's Childhood

J.K. Rowling was born at Yate General Hospital as Joanne Rowling (with no middle name) on July 31, 1965, in Gloucestershire, England. (Although Chipping Sodbury is often mentioned as her birthplace, her birth certificate says Yate.)

Rowling's parents, Peter James Rowling and Anne Volant, met on a train on their way to join the British navy (the navy for Peter and the Women's Royal Naval Service for Anne). They married a year later, at age 19. At age 20, the young couple became new parents when Joanne Rowling arrived, followed by Joanne's sister, Diane "Di," 23 months later.

When Rowling was young, the family moved twice. At age four, Rowling and her family moved to Winterbourne. It was here that she met a brother and sister who lived in her neighborhood with the last name Potter.

At age nine, Rowling moved to Tutshill. The timing of the second move was clouded by the death of Rowling's favorite grandmother, Kathleen. Later, when Rowling was asked to use initials as a pseudonym for the Harry Potter books to attract more boy readers, Rowling chose "K" for Kathleen as her second initial to honor her grandmother.

At age eleven, Rowling began attending the Wyedean School, where she worked hard for her grades and was terrible at sports. Rowling says that the character Hermione Granger is loosely based on Rowling herself at this age.

At age 15, Rowling was devastated when given the news that her mother had become seriously ill with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease. Instead of ever entering remission, Rowling's mother grew increasingly sick.

Rowling Goes to College

Pressured by her parents to become a secretary, Rowling attended the University of Exeter beginning at age 18 (1983) and studied French. As part of her French program, she lived in Paris for a year.

After college, Rowling stayed in London and worked at several jobs, including at Amnesty International.

The Idea for Harry Potter

While on a train to London in 1990, having just spent the weekend apartment-hunting in Manchester, Rowling came up with the concept for Harry Potter. The idea, she says, "simply fell into my head."

Pen-less at the time, Rowling spent the remainder of her train-ride dreaming about the story and began to write it down as soon as she arrived home.

Rowling continued to write snippets about Harry and Hogwarts but wasn't done with the book when her mother died on December 30, 1990. Her mother's death hit Rowling hard. In an attempt to escape the sorrow, Rowling accepted a job teaching English in Portugal.

Her mother's death translated into more realistic and complex feelings for Harry Potter about his parents' deaths.

Rowling Becomes a Wife and Mother

In Portugal, Rowling met Jorge Arantes and the two married on October 16, 1992. Although the marriage proved a bad one, the couple had one child together, Jessica (born July 1993). After getting divorced on November 30, 1993, Rowling and her daughter moved to Edinburgh to be near Rowling's sister, Di, at the end of 1994.

The First Harry Potter Book

Before starting another full-time job, Rowling was determined to finish her Harry Potter manuscript. Once she had completed it, she typed it up and sent it to several literary agents.

After acquiring an agent, the agent shopped around for a publisher. After a year of searching and a number of publishers turning it down, the agent finally found a publisher willing to print the book. Bloomsbury made an offer for the book in August 1996.

Rowling's first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ( Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was the U.S. title) became hugely popular, attracting an audience of young boys and girls as well as adults. With the public demanding more, Rowling quickly got to work on the following six books, with the last one published in July 2007.

Hugely Popular

In 1998, Warner Bros. bought the film rights and since then, extremely popular movies have been made of the books. From the books, the films, and the merchandise bearing Harry Potter images, Rowling has become one of the richest people in the world.

Rowling Marries Again

Between all of this writing and publicity, Rowling remarried on December 26, 2001, to Dr. Neil Murray. In addition to her daughter Jessica from her first marriage, Rowling has two additional children: David Gordon (born March 2003) and Mackenzie Jean (born January 2005).

The Harry Potter Books

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (June 26, 1997, in U.K.) (called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the U.S., September 1998)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (July 2, 1998, in U.K.) (June 2, 1999, in the U.S.)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (July 8, 2000, in both U.K. and U.S.)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (June 21, 2003, in both U.K. and U.S.)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 16, 2005, in both U.K. and U.S.)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (July 21, 2007, in both U.K. and U.S.)
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J.K. Rowling: The Beloved Creator of Harry Potter

• by history tools
• November 19, 2023

British author J.K. Rowling is best known for writing the acclaimed Harry Potter fantasy book series, which became a global phenomenon in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Her imaginative stories of a young wizard‘s adventures at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry captivated readers across generations.

Early Life and Education

Born Joanne Rowling on July 31, 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, JK grew up with her parents Anne and Peter Rowling along with her younger sister Dianne. She had a close relationship with her mother, an avid reader who suffered from multiple sclerosis. Rowling attended St Michael‘s Primary School where her headmaster first noticed her creative flair for storytelling.

After graduating from Wyedean School, she studied French and Classics at the University of Exeter. During this time, she spent a year working and studying in Paris. After graduation, Rowling settled down in London.

The Harry Potter Phenomenon

While on a delayed train trip from Manchester to London King‘s Cross in 1990, Rowling first had the idea for a story of a young bespectacled orphan boy who discovers he is a wizard. She spent the next few years mapping out detailed back stories and developing the magical world of Harry Potter.

The first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher‘s Stone was published by Bloomsbury in June 1997 with just 500 copies printed. But positive reviews started pouring in and the book became a word-of-mouth sensation. She went on to write 6 more installments ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007.

The Harry Potter books have sold over 500 million copies and been translated into 80 languages . They sparked a multimedia franchise including:

• 8 blockbuster films released between 2001-2011 earning $7.7 billion
• A Wizarding World theme park with rides and attractions
• Tons of merchandising from wands to costumes
• An active fandom that still thrives today

Accolades and Achievements

Rowling has won numerous prestigious honors recognizing her contribution to British literature and philanthropy:

• Order of the British Empire (OBE), 2001
• Hugo Award for Best Novel, 2001
• Légion d‘honneur, 2009
• British Book Awards Lifetime Achievement, 2017
• Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award, 2020

She was named the world‘s first billionaire author in 2004 but lost the status after donating large sums to charity. However, she still consistently tops rankings of highest-paid authors.

Personal Life and Philanthropy

Rowling resides in Scotland with her husband Neil Murray, whom she married in 2001 after her divorce from Jorge Arantes. She has 3 children – Jessica, David and Mackenzie.

Despite her massive wealth, estimated at $1 billion , she leads a relatively normal life centered around her family and children. She once said “I still love travelling by train, it helps me to relax and gather my thoughts" .

Rowling backs various social causes through her Volant Charitable Trust including:

• Poverty alleviation
• Social inequality
• Multiple sclerosis research
• Neuroscience research
• Single parent families
• Homelessness

She focuses on these areas based on her own experiences witnessing her mother‘s illness and hardships faced during her first failed marriage.

Why We Love J.K. Rowling

• Reimagined and revived the fantasy fiction genre
• Inspired millions of children worldwide to read for pleasure
• Created an enthralling magical universe that still captivates fans today
• Broke down barriers for female writers of young adult literature
• Demonstrates the power of imagination and creativity
• Used her wealth and fame for remarkable philanthropy

Interesting Facts About J.K. Rowling

• Wanted to be published under a gender neutral pen name J.K. Murray initially
• Went from living on benefits as a single mom to becoming a billionaire
• Over 160 million Harry Potter books have been sold in the U.S. alone
• The books have been translated into 65 languages besides English
• She still managed to finish the first Harry Potter book in cafes despite her poverty at the time

Frequently Asked Questions

When was J.K. Rowling born? July 31, 1965

Where is J.K. Rowling from originally? She was born in Yate, Gloucestershire in England.

What inspired her to write Harry Potter? The initial idea came to her during a train delay traveling from Manchester to London King‘s Cross station.

How many Harry Potter books has she written? She has authored 7 books in the main Harry Potter series, along with supplemental books.

What is J.K. Rowling‘s current net worth? Her estimated net worth is around $1 billion.

J.K. Rowling will be remembered for generations as the legendary creator of the Harry Potter universe. She inspired a lifelong love of reading and magic in millions of children worldwide. Even after two decades, the fandom remains strong due to the power of her imaginative writing.

J. K. Rowling: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)

Description.

The unprecedented popularity of the Harry Potter books took the publishing world by storm and captured the imaginations of readers around the world. This unofficial biographical study of J. K. Rowling invites fans and critics alike to take a close look at the person behind the phenomenon, the facts of her life as a writer, and the extraordinary success of an ordinary woman. L This detailed book explores both the critical acclaim and the controversies surrounding Rowling's books and the characters, who seem to have found a life of their own. Chapters take the reader from Rowling's early childhood in England through her school years, friendships, and early influences, tracing her family life, her travels and personal relationships, and the development of her career as a writer.

The Harry Potter books are carefully considered against the backdrop of the fantasy genre and are also situated within the broader framework of popular culture. A bibliography provides reviews, critical articles, biographical sources, and related Web site information. A timeline highlights the events of Rowling's life and career. Other appendices cite the many awards her books have received around the world. Also included are lists of her special literary and humanitarian interests.

About the Author

CONNIE ANN KIRK is an author and independent scholar specializing in American and children's literature and the poet, Emily Dickinson. Her books from Greenwood Press include: J.K. Rowling: A Biography, Emily Dickinson: A Biography, Mark Twain: A Biography, Sylvia Plath: A Biography, and The Companion to American Children's Picture Books.

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5 Little-Known Facts About How J.K. Rowling Brought Harry Potter to Life

Rowling owes her success to an 8-year-old girl

Like many first-time authors, Rowling struggled to get her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone published. (The name was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the United States.) The book was rejected by over a dozen publishers. Finally, a small British publisher, Bloomsbury, said yes. Bloomsbury saw the potential of the book because the chairman of the publishing house gave the first chapter to his then 8-year-old daughter, Alice, to read. Upon finishing, she immediately demanded the rest of the book. However, Bloomsbury was not convinced that it had a bestseller on its hands. Rowling’s editor, Barry Cunningham, warned her that she needed to get a day job because it was impossible to make a living writing children’s books.

Rowling made up her middle initial in response to her publisher’s sexism

In addition to assuming that the book would not sell well, the editorial team at Bloomsbury advised Rowling that she should not publish under her real name, Joanne Rowling, because boys would not read a book written by a woman. That sexist assumption certainly did not give much credit to boys, and took it for granted that girls would read a book written by men. Rowling, eager for success, agreed to write under the name J.K. Rowling. The J was her first initial. But Rowling does not have a middle name, so she used K as a tribute to her grandmother, Kathleen.

The names of the houses at Hogwarts were originally written on a barf bag

Rowling likes to write her first drafts in longhand, preferably in black ink. Sometimes she found herself inspired, but short on paper. So she wrote on anything she could find. She told Amazon UK that she used a truly novel paper substitute when she was concocting the name of the Hogwarts houses: “The names of the Hogwarts Houses were created on the back of an aeroplane sick bag. Yes, it was empty.”

The increasingly dark tone of the series was inspired by Rowling’s life experiences

The Harry Potter series becomes considerably more sophisticated as it progresses, grappling with serious issues like death and bigotry. Rowling has been open about the fact that much of the darkness is autobiographical. She told Oprah Winfrey that, though she did not realize it when she began writing the series, making Harry an orphan, along with his subsequent experiences with death, was her way of dealing with the death of her mother, who died of multiple sclerosis when Rowling was 20: “If she hadn't died, I don't think it's too strong to say that there wouldn't be Harry Potter . The books are what they are because she died.”

The Dementors, among the most frightening creatures in the franchise, were inspired by her struggles with depression during her 20s: “It's so difficult to describe to someone who's never been there because it's not sadness. I know sadness. Sadness is to cry and to feel. But it's that cold absence of feeling — that really hollowed-out feeling. That's what Dementors are."

Quidditch was based on basketball

Quidditch, the sport of choice at Hogwarts, resembles flying lacrosse in the Harry Potter films. One might imagine that the British Rowling thought of cricket when creating the game. After all, the Quidditch brooms look a little bit like bats. Actually, her inspiration was the all-American basketball. In her Amazon interview, Rowling explained, “I wanted a sport for wizards, and I'd always wanted to see a game where there was more than one ball in play at the same time. The idea just amused me. The Muggle sport it most resembles is basketball, which is probably the sport I enjoy watching most.”

Thanks to the popularity of the books, Quidditch has become an actual sport, with teams at many universities and its own world cup tournament . Rowling approves since she put a lot of effort into making it a fully realized sport: “I had a lot of fun making up the rules and I've still got the notebook I did it in, complete with diagrams, and all the names for the balls I tried before I settled on Snitch, Bludgers and Quaffle.”

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• Biographies

J.K. Rowling: Beyond Harry Potter’s Legacy – A Biography

In the enchanting realm of literature, few names shine as brightly as that of J.K. Rowling. Renowned across the globe, Rowling has woven tales that have not only captivated minds but also defined an entire generation’s imagination. As the mastermind behind the beloved Harry Potter series, her literary prowess has transported readers into a world brimming with magic, courage, and camaraderie. With her quill as a wand, she conjured stories that resonate far beyond the pages, forging an everlasting bond with readers of all ages.

J.K. Rowling’s contributions to literature and pop culture are nothing short of extraordinary. With her ink, she breathed life into characters that have become household names and embarked on quests that have touched hearts around the world. From the hallowed halls of Hogwarts to the magical depths of friendship and heroism, her stories have left an indelible mark on our cultural tapestry.

In the following sections, we delve into the chapters of J.K. Rowling’s life, tracing her journey from the ordinary to the extraordinary. From her early struggles to her ascent as a literary luminary, we unravel the magic behind the woman whose words have cast a spell on generations.

Personal and Professional Details

Early life and challenges.

J.K. Rowling’s journey began amidst the picturesque landscapes of Yate, Gloucestershire. Born on July 31, 1965, as Joanne Rowling, she displayed a penchant for storytelling from a young age. Her early life was marked by a fertile imagination and a voracious appetite for reading – traits that would later shape her destiny.

However, life wasn’t always a fairytale for Rowling. As a single mother, she faced the harsh realities of financial constraints and uncertainty. Amidst the trials of raising her daughter and trying to make ends meet, she found solace in her writing. The realms of imagination became a refuge from the challenges of her everyday existence.

It was during a train journey that the idea of a young wizard named Harry Potter and his magical world first took root in Rowling’s mind. The subsequent years saw her tirelessly juggling motherhood, work, and her creative aspirations. Rejections from multiple publishers marked her path, but Rowling’s determination to share her enchanting tale persisted.

Rowling’s early life reflects her resilience in the face of adversity. The struggles she confronted as a single mother and aspiring author forged the very foundation of her tenacity – a trait that would later propel her to literary stardom.

Keywords: J.K. Rowling’s early life, Yate, Gloucestershire, storytelling, imagination, single mother, struggling writer, financial constraints, solace, young wizard, Harry Potter, magical world, creativity, rejection, determination, resilience, tenacity

Creation of Harry Potter

J.K. Rowling’s journey to creating the Harry Potter series is a testament to the power of imagination and perseverance. Amidst the challenges of her early life, Rowling’s inspiration for the wizarding world struck like a lightning bolt. Sitting on a delayed train, the character of Harry Potter materialized in her mind, and with him, an entire realm of magic, friendship, and adventure.

Rowling’s writing process was marked by dedication and an unwavering commitment to her craft. Balancing her responsibilities as a single mother and her passion for storytelling, she meticulously crafted the intricacies of the wizarding world. The process was far from easy; rejection letters from publishers served as reminders of the uphill battle she faced. Yet, Rowling’s determination never wavered.

The influences that shaped Rowling’s narrative were as diverse as they were profound. From her love of mythology and folklore to personal experiences that resonated deeply with the themes of friendship, loyalty, and overcoming adversity – these elements melded into the rich tapestry of the Harry Potter series.

With the publication of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” (known as “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in the U.S.), Rowling’s creation sparked a global phenomenon. The boy who lived became an emblem of hope, courage, and the magic of storytelling.

Rise to Literary Stardom

The release of the first Harry Potter book marked the beginning of J.K. Rowling’s meteoric rise to literary stardom, propelling her into the annals of literary history. The enchanting tale of a young wizard captured the hearts and imaginations of readers worldwide, creating a phenomenon that transcended age, culture, and borders.

The immense success of the Harry Potter series was not merely a stroke of luck; it was a testament to Rowling’s exceptional storytelling prowess. The books became a cultural touchstone, sparking a global obsession that cut across generations. As readers followed Harry’s journey through the hallowed halls of Hogwarts, they found themselves immersed in a world that blended magic, friendship, and the eternal battle between good and evil.

Rowling’s creation had an unprecedented impact on the publishing industry, reshaping the way books were marketed and consumed. The midnight release parties, eager anticipation for each new installment, and the shared joy of discussing plot twists became defining features of the Harry Potter experience.

Beyond the literary world, the series left an indelible mark on popular culture. Harry Potter-themed merchandise, films, theme parks, and fan communities sprouted like wildflowers, creating a sense of camaraderie and belonging among Potterheads around the globe. The values of courage, loyalty, and acceptance that pervaded the books resonated deeply with readers, creating a lasting cultural influence that continues to thrive.

J.K. Rowling’s ascent to literary stardom was more than the story of a successful author; it was a phenomenon that united generations, fostering a shared love for a magical world that will forever be etched in the collective consciousness.

Philanthropy and Advocacy

Beyond the enchanting realms of her books, J.K. Rowling’s real-life impact shines brightly through her philanthropic endeavors and unwavering advocacy. A testament to her compassionate spirit, Rowling has consistently used her influence and resources to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Rowling’s philanthropic journey has been marked by a deep commitment to children’s welfare and education. One of her most notable initiatives is Lumos, a foundation she founded in 2005 to transform the lives of disadvantaged children living in institutions around the world. Lumos aims to reunite families, promote community-based care, and provide education and support to children who have been separated from their families due to poverty or disability.

In addition to Lumos, Rowling has contributed significantly to various charitable causes, often under the radar. Her generosity has extended to multiple sclerosis research, multiple sclerosis treatment centers, and veterans’ organizations. Her commitment to improving the world extends beyond financial contributions; she actively uses her platform to raise awareness and advocate for change.

Rowling’s advocacy for children’s rights and education is a natural extension of her belief in the power of knowledge and imagination. Her journey from struggling single mother to literary icon serves as a beacon of hope, inspiring others to overcome adversity and pursue their dreams.

J.K. Rowling’s philanthropy and advocacy have illuminated a path of compassion and empowerment, proving that the magic of her words extends far beyond fiction.

Challenges and Controversies

J.K. Rowling’s journey to literary stardom has been accompanied by challenges and controversies that have tested her resilience and character. While celebrated for her magical storytelling, she hasn’t been immune to criticisms and debates, particularly in the aftermath of the Harry Potter series.

Rowling faced challenges even before her rise to fame. As a struggling single mother, she battled financial difficulties while working on the first Harry Potter book. Her determination to provide a better life for her daughter fueled her creative fire, leading to the birth of one of the most beloved literary franchises.

In the wake of the series’ completion, Rowling faced criticisms for her post-series works and statements. Her novel “The Casual Vacancy” marked a departure from the magical world, and some fans found it challenging to reconcile with the new genre. Additionally, her use of social media led to debates about her opinions on various issues, including gender identity and feminism.

Her stance on certain topics, especially those related to gender identity, sparked passionate discussions and controversies. Rowling’s views were perceived by some as transphobic, leading to backlash and calls for boycotts. She responded to these criticisms, defending her right to express her opinions while also expressing empathy for the trans community.

Rowling’s journey through these challenges and controversies reflects her commitment to authenticity and her willingness to address complex issues. Her ability to engage in open dialogue, even in the face of criticism, showcases her as a figure who navigates her public role with both conviction and reflection.

While controversies have shaped part of her narrative, they are only one facet of a multi-dimensional writer who continues to captivate and inspire with her words.

Beyond Harry Potter

J.K. Rowling’s creative journey didn’t conclude with the last page of the Harry Potter series. her post-Potter works have showcased her versatility as an author and her commitment to exploring new horizons.

One notable aspect of Rowling’s post-Potter writing is her use of pseudonyms. Under the name Robert Galbraith, she ventured into the mystery genre with the Cormoran Strike series. This move was intentional, allowing her to step away from the immense expectations tied to her name and to immerse herself in a different literary landscape. The series, beginning with “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” received critical acclaim for its compelling characters and intricate plots.

Rowling’s foray into adult fiction brought forth “The Casual Vacancy,” a departure from the magical world she had crafted. The novel delves into complex themes such as social class, politics, and personal struggles within a small community. While it received mixed reviews, it showcased her ability to tackle diverse subjects and engage with mature audiences.

Furthermore, her literary ventures expanded to include works like “The Ickabog,” a children’s book released online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rowling invited young readers to contribute illustrations, fostering a sense of community and creativity during challenging times.

These post-Potter endeavors underscore Rowling’s determination to challenge herself as a writer and her willingness to explore uncharted territories. While the wizarding world remains an integral part of her legacy, her diverse literary contributions beyond Harry Potter showcase her as an author unafraid to venture into new realms of storytelling.

Personal Life and Resilience

Beyond the pages of her literary creations, J.K. Rowling’s personal life has been marked by a remarkable journey of resilience, tenacity, and the ability to rise above adversities.

Rowling’s early years were characterized by struggles and setbacks. As a single mother, she faced financial difficulties while simultaneously nurturing her dream of becoming an author. These challenges often felt insurmountable, yet it was during these trying times that the seed of the magical world of Harry Potter was planted.

Her relationship with her mother, who passed away from multiple sclerosis at a young age, left a profound impact on her life and ultimately influenced the themes of loss and courage present in her stories. The bond between Rowling and her mother is woven into the fabric of the characters she created, adding depth and authenticity to the emotions portrayed.

Resilience became a defining trait of Rowling’s journey. The rejection letters from publishers, who initially dismissed her manuscript, could have deterred a lesser determined individual. However, Rowling’s unwavering belief in her story and her commitment to her craft fueled her perseverance.

Rowling’s own experiences of grappling with depression and mental health issues further shaped her empathetic approach to characters facing their struggles. Her openness about these challenges has resonated with countless readers, fostering a sense of connection and understanding.

In her journey from a struggling single mother to one of the most celebrated authors of our time, J.K. Rowling’s personal story is a testament to the power of resilience, determination, and the human spirit’s ability to overcome even the most daunting obstacles.

Legacy and Impact

J.K. Rowling’s legacy in the realm of literature and popular culture is as enduring as the tales she spun within the pages of her books. Her impact has transcended the boundaries of fiction, shaping the way we perceive stories, imagination, and the power of words.

The literary world owes a debt to Rowling for her revolutionary approach to storytelling. Through the Harry Potter series, she redefined the fantasy genre, breathing life into a magical universe that captivated the hearts and minds of readers across the globe. Her intricate world-building, well-defined characters, and intricate plotlines set a new standard for what literature could achieve.

Rowling’s influence on subsequent generations of writers is immeasurable. Her success shattered the notion that children’s literature was confined to youthful readers. Instead, she ushered in an era where adults and children alike found themselves immersed in the same tales, bridging generational gaps through the shared love of her stories.

Beyond the literary realm, Rowling’s influence has permeated popular culture. From movies and merchandise to theme parks and fan conventions, the Harry Potter franchise has become a cultural phenomenon that continues to resonate. The impact of the series on modern storytelling is undeniable, as it inspired countless authors to explore the possibilities of magic, adventure, and the intricate interplay between good and evil.

Rowling’s legacy serves as a testament to the transformative power of literature. Her ability to create a world so richly detailed that it feels tangible has left an indelible mark on the hearts of readers. The enduring allure of the wizarding world she crafted reminds us that stories possess the remarkable capacity to unite, inspire, and leave an everlasting legacy.

In the tapestry of literary history, J.K. Rowling stands as a shining star, her journey from adversity to acclaim an inspiration for all. From humble beginnings to the dazzling heights of literary fame, her story resonates with the power of resilience and imagination.

J.K. Rowling’s contributions to literature are akin to spells woven on parchment, captivating minds, and hearts across generations. Through the enchanting pages of the Harry Potter series, she transported us to a world where magic and reality danced in harmony. Her tales ignited the flames of creativity, fostering a love for reading that transcends age and time.

But Rowling’s influence extends beyond the realms of fantasy. Her dedication to philanthropy and advocacy showcases her unwavering commitment to creating positive change in the world. Through her efforts, she has illuminated the path for countless individuals to chase their dreams and overcome challenges.

As the pages of her journey continue to unfold, one thing remains clear: J.K. Rowling’s legacy is boundless. Her magic has not only shaped literature but has also left an indelible mark on culture and philanthropy. Let us celebrate the wizardry of her words and honor the enduring legacy of a writer who has cast a spell of inspiration that will resonate for generations to come.

J.K. Rowling FAQs

Who is j.k. rowling.

J.K. Rowling is a British author best known for creating the wildly popular Harry Potter series.

What is J.K. Rowling's most famous work?

J.K. Rowling's most famous work is the Harry Potter series, which has captured the hearts of readers worldwide.

How did J.K. Rowling come up with the idea for Harry Potter?

The idea for Harry Potter came to J.K. Rowling during a train journey. The character and magical world gradually evolved in her mind.

What challenges did J.K. Rowling face before becoming successful?

Before her success, J.K. Rowling faced personal struggles, financial difficulties, and rejections from publishers.

What impact did the Harry Potter series have on literature?

The Harry Potter series revolutionized children's literature, encouraging reading and inspiring a new generation of writers.

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High Ability

creative - highly intense and sensitive - multipotentialite - gifted

J.K. Rowling: an ordinary and extraordinary childhood

By Douglas Eby

“I was shy. I was a mixture of insecurities and very bossy.”

“That whole thing about Harry being able to fly so well is probably total wish fulfillment.”

Rowling also said she was, “never happier than when reading or writing.”

[From Profile of J.K. Rowling by Linda L. Richards, January Magazine, October 2000.]

What are some of the other elements of her childhood and personality that helped  Joanne Kathleen Rowling fuel her imagination and make her stories so rich and appealing?

In her brief autobiography The Not Especially Fascinating Life So Far of J. K. Rowling , she notes, “Certainly the first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit.

“He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee.

“And since that time, I have wanted to be a writer, though I rarely told anyone so. I was afraid they’d tell me I didn’t have a hope.”

She also describes herself as “quiet, freckly, short-sighted and rubbish at sports (I am the only person I know who managed to break their arm playing netball). My favourite subject by far was English, but I quite liked languages too. I used to tell my equally quiet and studious friends long serial stories at lunch-times. They usually involved us all doing heroic and daring deeds we certainly wouldn’t have done in real life; we were all too swotty.”

(According to Dictionary.com, ‘swotty’ means “given to studying hard, esp to the exclusion of other activities.”)

Writing a character with a health problem is one of many ideas she used from her own experience.

In 1974, the profile continues, “her parents purchased an old stone cottage in Tutshill, on the Welsh border, close to the Forest of Dean , which would become a blueprint for Harry Potter’s Forbidden Forest… The idyllic Church Cottage, which had a flagstone floor and a covered well, was just a goblin’s throw from the local graveyard, and was surrounded by countryside in which the Rowling sisters would enact their adventures.”

But her “first day at Tutshill Church of England school in September 1974 was not a success. She scored only half a mark out of ten in a test that led to her being positioned on the less intellectual side of the class. Her natural ability soon shone through and she was promoted.”

The teacher was “a strict, intimidating woman, who frightened Joanne as a child and whose presence would work its way into the less sympathetic masters of Hogwarts. By the age of ten, Joanne was a keen Brownie, a voracious reader and a serious student who raced to get her hand up first.”

“I was the epitome of a bookish child, short and squat, thick National Health glasses, living in a world of complete daydreams.”

In a Scholastic press interview she said, “I had some wonderful teachers, but I never confided that I wanted to be a writer. Writing for me is a kind of compulsion, so I don’t think anyone could have made me do it, or prevented me from doing it.”

On her own site, she adds, “As soon as I knew what writers were, I wanted to be one. I’ve got the perfect temperament for a writer; perfectly happy alone in a room, making things up.” [ jkrowling.com ]

Imaginational Overexcitability

In her SENG presentation Understanding Overexcitabilities: The Joys and the Challenges, Susan Daniels, PhD comments about Imaginational Overexcitability: “…if one has an imagination like J. K. Rowling, an entire feast hall with floating candelabras, wizards and dragons can result.”

[See a video excerpt from the presentation in my post Excitabilities and Gifted People – an intro by Susan Daniels .]

A BBC biography: JK Rowling – Author notes “In her final year of school Joanne became Head Girl. One of the characters in the Harry Potter series, Hermione Granger, is extremely keen on and serious about schoolwork and studying. Joanne has admitted that this character was based on herself”

“I wasn’t as clever as I thought I should be. I don’t think I was a know-it-all. I was obsessed with achieving academically, but that masked a huge insecurity,” Rowling said.

[From Cruel school bullies branded me Rowling Pin, says author J.K. , By Jonathan Petre, Daily Mail, 17 July 2011]

The book J.K. Rowling: A Biography by Connie Ann Kirk also notes she was attacked at her high school and thrown against her locker by a girl in her class.

[Also see post: Lily Cole and gifted kids being bullied .]

Of course, many children get bullied, many love to read and create, and feel shy or insecure at times, but these experiences may be particularly intense, meaningful and enduring for gifted and creative children.

In her article Under Her Spell: An Analysis of the Creativity Of JK Rowling [PDF] (Gifted Education International September 2004), Ann Loftus McGreevy commented that “gifted children have been particularly dedicated to reading the Harry Potter series.”

One reason is how much of her exceptional inner life Rowling has brought into her powerful stories.

Middle photo: JK Rowling as child, from ABC News article: Inside the Magical World of ‘Harry Potter’ Author

Lower photo: Jo (left) and Di Rowling in the early 1970s.

Some of my related posts about the author:

J.K. Rowling on creative imagination

J.K. Rowling on the benefits of failure for personal growth development

Writing from personal experience: J.K. Rowling and celebrating our unique qualities

J.K. Rowling on Writing and Depression

“Leslie Graves, executive member of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, writes:

#IWG2012 – Second week, August 2012 – We will celebrate with a blog tour over the week, in honour of the upcoming International Year of Giftedness and Creativity 2013.

This tour invites any who wish to blow a breath of air at our communal kite of giftedness, attach a bow of an idea onto it’s tail, — help it start to get it off the ground, simply by taking part, to contribute a blog post with your stories/ideas, and help others to see what can be…

We are hoping that the #IWG2012 will give our gifted global community’s beautiful kite a good head start with your ideas.

From the site Gifted Online .

Also see the site: World Council for Gifted And Talented Children .

Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”

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J. K. Rowling A Biography Hardcover – December 31, 1999

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Print length 224 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Michael O'Mara Books
• Publication date December 31, 1999
• Dimensions 6.2 x 0.97 x 9.34 inches
• ISBN-10 1854798200
• ISBN-13 978-1854798206
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

About the author.

A veteran of countless TV and radio programs, Sean Smith has been described by the Independent as 'a fearless chronicler'. He has commented that, "The life of Joanne Rowling is a wonderful subject, combining serious social issues with enormous popular appeal." Like the novelist, he comes from the West Country, and has contacts with a number of her friends, teachers, former classmates and neighbors, enabling him to base his biography on exclusive interviews with these and others who know her.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Michael O'Mara Books; First UK edition (December 31, 1999)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1854798200
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1854798206
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.14 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.2 x 0.97 x 9.34 inches
• #2,719 in Women Writers in Women Studies
• #19,172 in Author Biographies
• #37,338 in Women's Biographies

About the author

Sean Smith is the UK's leading celebrity biographer and the author of the number one bestseller Cheryl, as well as Sunday Times bestselling books about Tom Jones, Robbie Williams, Tulisa and Kate Middleton.

His books about the most famous people of our times have been translated throughout the world. His subjects include Adele, George Michael, Ed Sheeran, the Spice Girls, Kylie Minogue, Gary Barlow, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Alesha Dixon, Jennifer Aniston and J. K. Rowling. The film Magic Beyond Words: The J. K. Rowling Story was based on his biography of the Harry Potter author.

Described by the Independent as a 'fearless chronicler', he specializes in meticulous research, going 'on the road' to find the real person behind the star image.

His latest book, Meghan Misunderstood, is a biography of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.

www.seansmithceleb.com

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Shadow justice secretary agrees with JK Rowling over gender critical views

The Labour shadow justice secretary has said she agrees with JK Rowling that “biological sex is real and is immutable”.

Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary , expressed support for women who express gender critical views, saying that they should not be “stigmatised” for saying them.

Ms Mahmood, who took up the role last September , used her first major speech to warn of the dangers of “the rule of the mob” when “the rule of law fails”.

The shadow frontbencher cited the MeToo movement, saying it was “a powerful moment of liberation” but also called it a “damning indictment” of the legal system when “the only justice on offer was justice by hashtag, and not by a judge or jury”.

Hashtag movements

Asked about whether she had broader concerns about freedom of speech on social media, particularly regarding debates on gender, Ms Mahmood said: “Hashtag movements are sometimes used to shut down debate and often many women have had to go to court, usually in employment tribunals, in order to clarify their rights to free speech.

“To clarify their right to believe that for example because you referenced JK Rowling , clarify their right to say that biological sex is real and is immutable – a position that I also agree with.

“But they shouldn’t be in the position of losing their jobs for having views that are perfectly legal, and that they are perfectly entitled to express.”

It comes after Wes Streeting earlier this month admitted that he had been wrong to say that “trans women are women” in the wake of the Cass review into NHS gender care.

Last night, Ms Mahmood added: “I think that actually in this era of social media, that’s been a real challenge for people to hold onto what we would consider are normal legal norms. 

“That which is allowed within the law you shouldn’t be stigmatised for, or prevented from saying, and you certainly shouldn’t feel that you might lose your job for holding perfectly legal views.”

The MP for Birmingham Ladywood said that “some of those issues are being resolved now” but said that she believed “it’s taken us far too long to get to this point”.

‘Toxic debate’

“I think that campaigners, like JK Rowling and others, have had to lead the fight in this area, which I know it’s become a bit of a toxic debate, but fundamentally what we should take refuge in is the laws of our land, they’re there to protect everybody.”

Setting out her views on the rule of law at Gray’s Inn, central London, Ms Mahmood said that law “must change with the world, and when it fails to - it fails us.

“For many women, the rise of the MeToo movement was a powerful moment of liberation. But it was also a damning indictment of our system that the only justice on offer was justice by hashtag, and not by a judge or jury.”

She told members of the legal profession:  “And while monsters like Harvey Weinstein would eventually, rightly, go to trial and be found guilty of terrible crimes, others, never proved guilty of any crime, were accused and publicly shamed with no right to defence or fair hearing.

“The oldest principle of all – that all are innocent until proven guilty – was at times cast aside as the court of public opinion replaced the court of law.”

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