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J. K. Rowling
"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."
J.K Rowling is one of the most widely recognised names in publishing, and one of the bestselling authors of all time with an estimated 600 million book sales.
It all started with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first book in a series of seven that would take the world by storm, influence popular culture for decades, and lead to movie adaptations, theme parks, and much more.
It’s hard to describe the frenzy surrounding each of the original Harry Potter releases, but the love for these titles and the magic surrounding the Potterverse has quickly been adopted by younger generations.
Meet J.K Rowling
J K (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling was born in July 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive.
Jo left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, her course including one year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London and worked as a researcher at Amnesty International among other jobs. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a delayed 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.
Jo then moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. She married in October 1992 and gave birth to a daughter Jessica in 1993. When the marriage ended, she and Jessica returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where she eventually completed her first book.
Jo married Dr. Neil Murray in 2001, and soon had two more children; David in 2003, and Mackenzie in 2005.
Rowling also writes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, where she has found a whole new following for her Cormoran Strike series, which begins with The Cuckoo’s Calling.