JK Rowling biography

Joanne Rowling, better known and indeed, EXTREMELY well known around the world as JK Rowling was born in the town of Yate, South Gloucestershire in 1965. She is the most successful literary author of all time and her world-famous Harry Potter series has so far sold a staggering 400,000,000 copies worldwide and has been translated into over sixty five different languages.

JK Rowling went to the University of Exeter where she studied French and the Classics. After leaving university she worked for Amnesty International in London as a researcher and bilingual secretary.

JK Rowling has written fiction since a child, and always wanted to be an author. Her parents loved reading, and their house in Chepstow was full of books. In fact, JK Rowling wrote her first 'book' at the age of six - a story about a rabbit called Rabbit.

The idea for Harry Potter occured to JK Rowling on the train from Manchester to London, where she says Harry Potter "just strolled into my head fully formed", and by the time she had arrived at King's Cross, many of the characters had taken shape. During the next five years she outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was first published by Bloomsbury in 1997.

Rowling is a great donator to charity and in the future she intends to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia with all profits going to charity. Coca-Cola were forced to give $18m to the American charity Reading is Fundamental in return for being allowed to rights to the movie tie-ins.

JK Rowling has also written two other companion books, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief.

JK Rowling awards

• Nestle Smarties Book Prize (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
• Children’s Book of the Year - British Book Awards (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
• Children’s Book Award (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
• JK Rowling has won the Hugo, Bram Stoker and Whitebread awards for the Harry Potter series.

JK Rowling records

• Last 3 volumes of the Harry Potter series have been the fastest selling books in history.
• Book 6 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the fastest selling book ever.
• JK Rowling is the first person to win the Smarties Prize for literature 3 years in a row.
• In the USA, each Harry Potter book reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

JK Rowling influences

• Jane Austen - Rowling's all time favourite writer
• Paul Gallico - writer of Manxmouse
• C.S. Lewis - the Narnia Chronicles
• Noel Streatfield

JK Rowling books

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
• 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)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)

JK Rowling interviews

Jeremy Paxman, from the BBC, performed an exclusive Newsnight interview with J. K. Rowling. This is an intriguing interview and the normally savage Paxman pulls his claws in for the duration. The BBC interview with J. K. Rowling >>

In the first interview since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling explains why the end to the series was rather vague, or "nebulous" and "poetic" and what she plans to do next. J. K. Rowling interview with the TODAYshow.com >>

Stories from the Web interviews J. K. Rowling. A short but sweet in interview in which she talks about the inspirations behind her work, whether or not the characters are based on real people and where the names in the Harry Potter derive from. Stories from the Web interviews J. K. Rowling >>

JK Rowling critical acclaim

"And you though wizardry was for children. Harry Potter will make you think again. He casts his spells on grown-ups too" James Naughtie

"Full of surprises and jokes; comparisons with Dahl are, this time, justified" Sunday Times

Latest news: JK Rowling

JK Rowling donates £10m to medical research centre
Fantasy author JK Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter phenomenon, has made a very generous contribution to help setup a centre to research the disease multiple sclerosis, which claimed the life of her mother Anne. The Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic will be based at the University of E [...]

Fantasy news round-up, August 24, 2010
James Cameron warned del Toro not to direct the Hobbit James Cameron has revealed that he advised Guillermo del Toro not to direct The Hobbit because of Peter Jackson's strong links to the franchise. Del Toro spent several years in New Zealand working on the fantasy prequels, only to drop out ea [...]

Fantasy news round-up, August 2, 2010
Dawn Treader: new movie poster and trailer  Dawn Treader, the film based on the CS Lewis book from the Narnia Chronicles, is being directed by British filmmaker Michael Apted and has been written by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and Michael Petroni. It will be appearing in cinemas around [...]

A rebirth for reading: Hollywood turns movie buffs into enthusiastic readers
Article by Nikki Garriques JK Rowling and her Harry Potter phenomenon were the start of something great for the educators, parents, and authors working diligently to spark some sort of passion for books in the hearts of the world’s distracted, technology drunk preteens and teens.  The age old [...]

Special Feature: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
From magical spells to magical creatures, from dark villains to daring heroes, it's all at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - £169m in the making - which opened June 18 at the Universal Orlando resort. Is it a fitting shrine for the world’s biggest ever book phenomenon? We take a look at the firs [...]

Latest reviews: Original Sin, Tallow, The Immortals Trilogy, Conrad’s Fate and Broken Wings
Here is a round-up of the latest books to be read and reviewed on Fantasy Book Review, with links to the full review itself. Coming soon: Fire in the East by Harry Sidebottom, The Radleys by Matt Haig, Connor’s Folly by Robert C Auty and the brilliant The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell. Orig [...]

JR Mitchell interview (June 2010)
Interview conducted by Snjezana Bobic "If you have ever had a moment in your life where you feel driven to achieve something inspirational, than you will know how I feel about writing.” JR Mitchell, or Joanne as her friends know her, is Australia’s most prominent emerging Fantasy Fiction Writ [...]

Boris Johnson wants Harry Potter theme park in London
Boris Johnson has expressed his "jealous irritation" at the fact that Orlando is about to become the "official place of pilgrimage for every Harry Potter fan on earth". The Mayor of London went on urge Harry Potter fans to lobby JK Rowling for a London theme park to rival the 2 [...]

Fantasy news round-up: May 20, 2010
Light a candle for JK Rowling’s charity JK Rowling's children's charity, Lumos, is asking you to light a virtual birthday candle to support its campaign to deinstitutionalise children in eastern European countries such as Moldova and the Czech Republic. Thousands of children living in these inst [...]

Cornelia Funke to present award, sign books and conduct a reading in Hawaii this April
Fantasy author Cornelia Funke, often called the German JK Rowling, can be found in Hawaii this April. On April 29, she will be a special guest at The Nene Award Ceremony where she will receive honour for her best-selling novel, Inkheart. The Nene Award is presented to the best fiction book, as voted [...]