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Website. jkrowling .com. Joanne Rowling CH OBE FRSL ( / ˈroʊlɪŋ / ROH-ling ); [1] born 31 July 1965), better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote Harry Potter, a seven-volume fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007.
- 1997–present
- Overview
- Humble beginnings
- Harry Potter and success
- Harry on the big screen and on stage
- Writing for adults
- Honors and controversy
J.K. Rowling is the British author who created the popular and critically acclaimed Harry Potter series (seven books published between 1997 and 2007), about a lonely orphan who discovers that he is actually a wizard and enrolls in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
What did J.K. Rowling write?
In addition to the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling wrote such companion volumes as Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (2001) and cowrote a story on which the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016) was based. Her adult fiction includes The Casual Vacancy (2012) and the Cormoran Strike series (as Robert Galbraith).
How did J.K. Rowling become famous?
J.K. Rowling started writing about Harry Potter after graduating from the University of Exeter. After a brief marriage and the birth of her daughter, Rowling settled in Edinburgh and lived on public assistance between stints as a French teacher and writing. After many rejections, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published to immediate success.
What is J.K. Rowling’s real name?
After graduating from the University of Exeter in 1986, Rowling began working for Amnesty International in London, where she started to write the Harry Potter adventures. In the early 1990s she traveled to Portugal to teach English as a foreign language, but, after a brief marriage and the birth of her daughter, she returned to the United Kingdom, settling in Edinburgh. Living on public assistance between stints as a French teacher, she continued to write.
Britannica Quiz
The first book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997; also published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), was released under the name J.K. Rowling. (Her publisher recommended a gender-neutral pen name; born Joanne Rowling, she used J.K., adding the middle name Kathleen.)
The book was an immediate success, appealing to both children, who were its intended audience, and adults. Featuring vivid descriptions and an imaginative story line, it followed the adventures of the unlikely hero Harry Potter, a lonely orphan who discovers that he is actually a wizard and enrolls in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The book received numerous awards, including the British Book Award. Succeeding volumes—Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)—also were best sellers, available in more than 200 countries and some 60 languages. The seventh and final novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released in 2007.
The Harry Potter series sparked great enthusiasm among children and was credited with generating a new interest in reading. Film versions of the books were released in 2001–11 and became some of the top-grossing movies in the world. In addition, Rowling wrote the companion volumes Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (2001), which was adapted into a film series (2016, 2018) that featured screenplays by Rowling; Quidditch Through the Ages (2001); and The Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008)—all of which originated as books read by Harry Potter and his friends within the fictional world of the series. Proceeds from their sales were donated to charity.
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She later cowrote a story that became the basis for the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which premiered in 2016 and was a critical and commercial success, winning an unprecedented nine Olivier Awards, including best new play. In the production, Harry is a husband and father but is still struggling with his past, while his son Albus must contend with his father’s legacy. A book version of the script, which was advertised as the eighth story in the Harry Potter series, was published in 2016. Two years later the play transferred to Broadway, and in 2018 it won six Tony Awards, including best new play.
Rowling made her first foray into adult fiction with The Casual Vacancy (2012; TV miniseries 2015), a contemporary social satire set in a small English town. In 2013 it was revealed that the author had penned the crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling, using the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The Silkworm—the second book in the series, which centred on the ...
Rowling was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2001. In 2009 she was named a chevalier of the French Legion of Honour.
However, in June 2020, Rowling drew unaccustomed criticism for taking exception on social media to an article that referenced “people who menstruate.” In part, Rowling tweeted “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out.” Rowling’s comments were seen as being unsympathetic to or out of touch with the transgender community. Some of the actors in the Harry Potter series, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson publicly opposed the author, while others, including Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, and Robbie Coltrane expressed support.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Explore the home page of J.K. Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchises. Find news, writing, and information about her life and work.
Learn about the life and achievements of the author of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series, from her childhood in Wales to her global success as a writer and a philanthropist. Discover how she created the spells, wrote the books, and founded the Wizarding World Digital and Lumos.
Apr 3, 2014 · Learn about the life and career of J.K. Rowling, the British author and screenwriter best known for her seven-book Harry Potter fantasy series. Find out how she created the iconic characters, sold millions of copies, and founded a charity for children.
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May 13, 2020 · Learn five little-known facts about the author of the Harry Potter series, from her real name to her inspiration for the Hogwarts houses. Discover how she used real-life experiences as inspiration for her wizarding world and how she created Quidditch, the sport of choice at Hogwarts.
Dec 20, 2016 · Visit the author of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts to find out about her latest projects, personal insights and answers to fans' questions. Explore her writing room, Twitter feed, charities and more on her new website.
