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Joanne Rowling CH, OBE, FRSL, FRCPE, FRSE, (/ˈroʊlɪŋ/ "rolling";[1] born 31 July 1965), writing under the pen names J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, is a British writer. She wrote the Harry Potter boks. She only uses the name J. K. Rowling for her books: the "K" stands for "Kathleen", which was the first name of her grandmother.
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J. K. Rowling | |
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 Rowling at the White House in 2010 | |
| Born | Joanne Rowling 31 July 1965 Yate, Gloucestershire, England |
| Pen name |
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| Occupation | Novelist, philanthropist, film producer, television producer, screenwriter |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | University of Exeter (1986, BA) |
| Period | 1997–present |
| Genre | Fantasy, drama, young adult fiction, tragicomedy, crime fiction |
| Notable works | Harry Potter series |
| Spouse |
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| Children | 3 |
| Signature |  |
| Website | |
| jkrowling | |
Rowling was born 31 July 1965 at Chipping Sodbury Cottage Hospital in Chipping Sodbury, Yate, Gloucesterhire England.[2][3] 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.[4] The original idea for Harry Potter came to her on a train that was delayed for four hours in 1990.[5] She moved to Portugal to teach English in 1990. She married Jorge Arantes[2] 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.[4] Rowling claims inspiration from Christianity.[6]
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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.
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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.
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Harry Potter series
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (26 June 1997 (UK), 9 January 1998 (US))
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2 July 1998 (UK), 6 February 1999 (US))
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8 July 1999 (UK), 9 August 1999 (US))
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (7 July 2000)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (21 June 2003)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (16 July 2005)
- 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)
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