| JK Rowling |
Full Name:
Nickname:
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
- Joanne Kathleen Rowling
Nickname:
- JKR, JK, Jo, Rowling
Date of Birth:
- 31 July 1965
Place of Birth:
- Yate, Gloucestershire, England
- 1, younger
| Vital Stats: |
Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born to two Londoners, Peter and Anne,
in 1965 on July 31st (which was later given as Harry’s birthday).
Rowling has a younger sister named Dianne (Di), who she still
remains very close to even through all the tough times they’ve
shared.
After leaving school, she went on to study French at the
University of Exeter. She had always been writing various stories
such as tales about a rabbit called Rabbit, much to the amusement
of her younger sister.
The ingenious idea of Harry Potter hit her while traveling on a
train from Manchester to London. She remarks that this as the
most excited she had ever gotten about an idea, yet the phenomenon
had to wait to be inked as she wasn’t in possession of a pen!
The ideas enhanced over the journey to reach the characters we are
now close to, although she started writing that very evening the
process was later put on hiatus due to the unfortunate event of
her mother’s death from Multiple Sclerosis, a vicious disease that
attacks the brain and spinal cord. This event had a dramatic
impact on some of the events throughout the series. For example,
her escape to Portugal became the inspiration for the Mirror of
Erised chapter in Philosopher’s Stone.
During her period in Portugal, she met and married a Portuguese
man and though it ended in divorce shortly after they were blessed
with their lovely daughter, Jessica, born in 1993. Later the next
year, Jo and Jessica moved to Edinburgh, Scotland to be near Di.
August 1996 marked the end of a struggle to find a publisher as
Bloomsbury had made an offer on the manuscript. This marked the
beginning of great things to come.
Rowling went on to release Chamber of Secrets (1999), Prisoner of
Azkaban (2000) and Goblet of Fire (2001) before the film industry
became aware of the power of these books. To date there have been
all seven books released with 5 out of these 7 released in film
format. All the films have been massive hits, beating many records
such as in the US, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was shown
on 8,200 screens and made an estimated $93.5 million.
Rowling has stated she always planned there to be seven novels to
the series, but due to the great success much speculation remains
as to whether or not she will stick to this. In 2001, Rowling
targeted her writing efforts towards two books taken from the
heart of the Harry Potter series itself, Fantastic Beasts and
Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages of which all
proceeds went to Comic Relief.
This is just one example of Rowling’s generosity. Many charities
have benefited from her kindness; her main focus is the Multiple
Sclerosis Society as this has a personal connection for her.
Rowling is currently working with the government to secure safe
orphanages over seas in The Children’s Voice campaign, an
organization she co-founded.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard had a significant role in her last
novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and in 2007 it became a
reality. Only seven copies were produced of the small book of
fairy tales, all handwritten and illustrated by Rowling herself.
With the release of another work for charity taken from within the
realm of her hit series, Rowling raised £1,950,000 with the sale
of just one of the elusive seven!
To view Amazon’s copy of the book they won at the Sotheby’s
auction, visit: www.amazon.co.uk/beedlebard.
Once on welfare, the single-mother overcame great odds, depression
and reluctant publishers to produce one of the biggest worldwide
best sellers in history. Through the continued success of the
Harry Potter phenomenon, Rowling has accomplished many wonderful
things: raising millions for charity, meeting and marrying Neil
Murray in 2006, and having two more children, David and Mackenzie.
Though her life is certainly full and hopefully very happy, we can
only hope for more from this amazing author in the future!
in 1965 on July 31st (which was later given as Harry’s birthday).
Rowling has a younger sister named Dianne (Di), who she still
remains very close to even through all the tough times they’ve
shared.
After leaving school, she went on to study French at the
University of Exeter. She had always been writing various stories
such as tales about a rabbit called Rabbit, much to the amusement
of her younger sister.
The ingenious idea of Harry Potter hit her while traveling on a
train from Manchester to London. She remarks that this as the
most excited she had ever gotten about an idea, yet the phenomenon
had to wait to be inked as she wasn’t in possession of a pen!
The ideas enhanced over the journey to reach the characters we are
now close to, although she started writing that very evening the
process was later put on hiatus due to the unfortunate event of
her mother’s death from Multiple Sclerosis, a vicious disease that
attacks the brain and spinal cord. This event had a dramatic
impact on some of the events throughout the series. For example,
her escape to Portugal became the inspiration for the Mirror of
Erised chapter in Philosopher’s Stone.
During her period in Portugal, she met and married a Portuguese
man and though it ended in divorce shortly after they were blessed
with their lovely daughter, Jessica, born in 1993. Later the next
year, Jo and Jessica moved to Edinburgh, Scotland to be near Di.
August 1996 marked the end of a struggle to find a publisher as
Bloomsbury had made an offer on the manuscript. This marked the
beginning of great things to come.
Rowling went on to release Chamber of Secrets (1999), Prisoner of
Azkaban (2000) and Goblet of Fire (2001) before the film industry
became aware of the power of these books. To date there have been
all seven books released with 5 out of these 7 released in film
format. All the films have been massive hits, beating many records
such as in the US, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was shown
on 8,200 screens and made an estimated $93.5 million.
Rowling has stated she always planned there to be seven novels to
the series, but due to the great success much speculation remains
as to whether or not she will stick to this. In 2001, Rowling
targeted her writing efforts towards two books taken from the
heart of the Harry Potter series itself, Fantastic Beasts and
Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages of which all
proceeds went to Comic Relief.
This is just one example of Rowling’s generosity. Many charities
have benefited from her kindness; her main focus is the Multiple
Sclerosis Society as this has a personal connection for her.
Rowling is currently working with the government to secure safe
orphanages over seas in The Children’s Voice campaign, an
organization she co-founded.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard had a significant role in her last
novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and in 2007 it became a
reality. Only seven copies were produced of the small book of
fairy tales, all handwritten and illustrated by Rowling herself.
With the release of another work for charity taken from within the
realm of her hit series, Rowling raised £1,950,000 with the sale
of just one of the elusive seven!
To view Amazon’s copy of the book they won at the Sotheby’s
auction, visit: www.amazon.co.uk/beedlebard.
Once on welfare, the single-mother overcame great odds, depression
and reluctant publishers to produce one of the biggest worldwide
best sellers in history. Through the continued success of the
Harry Potter phenomenon, Rowling has accomplished many wonderful
things: raising millions for charity, meeting and marrying Neil
Murray in 2006, and having two more children, David and Mackenzie.
Though her life is certainly full and hopefully very happy, we can
only hope for more from this amazing author in the future!
| Biography: |
| Honors and Awards: |
- 1997 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Award)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 1998 British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 1998 Carnegie Medal (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 1998 Children's Book Award
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 1998 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 1998 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Award)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 1998 Primo Centro per la Letteratura Infantile (Italy)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 1998 Sheffield Children's Book Award
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 1998 Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 1998 Young Telegraph Paperback of the Year Award
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 1999 British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 1999 Children's Book Award
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 1999 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 1999 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Award)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 1999 Prix Sorciere (France)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 1999 Scottish Arts Council Children's Book of the Year
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 1999 Sheffield Children's Book of the Year (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 1999 Whitbread Children's Book Award
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 2000 Carnegie Medal (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 2000 Children's Book Award (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 2000 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 2000 Sheffield Children's Book of the Year (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 2001 Children's Book Award (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- 2003 British Book Awards Book of the Year (shortlist)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- 2003 WH Smith People's Choice Award
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- 2006 British Book Awards Book of the Year
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- 2006 Royal Mail Award for Scottish Children's Books
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- 2008 South Bank Show Outstanding Achievement in the Arts
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
| Copyright © 2007 | www.booksandwands.com | All Rights Reserved No copyright infringement intended of any and all source material. Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Warner Brothers Entertainment. |
| *Biography written by Rosie from themagicalpen.com. |
| The Ultimate Harry Potter Analysis Source |
| Choosing what is Right over what is Easy |
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