INSIDE THIS ARTICLE
Who is J. K. Rowling?
Joanne Rowling was born on 31st July 1965, more commonly known by her pen name, J.K. Rowing. She is a British Author most famously known for her Harry Potter series, which has become really it’s own brand, in its own right. Rowling actually has no middle name, and when it came to publishing the first Harry Potter book, staff at Bloomsbury Publishing (the publishers for the Harry Potter series), asked her to use two initials as opposed to her real name. This was because they thought that young boys would not want to read a book written by a woman. Rowling used the letter “K” to stand for “Kathleen” for her paternal grandmother, and for the ease of pronunciation of two consecutive letters in the alphabet.
In 2008, Forbes named J.K. Rowling the highest paid author in the world. And with the eight films, play, numerous theme parks and even a sporting competition that has been inspired by her book series, it is no surprise that this still holds true.
Rowling has written more than the Harry Potter series, 2012 she released a standalone book, The Casual Vacancy, a mystery set in the small town of Pagford, and she also has two children’s books; The Ickabog and The Christmas Pig. J.K. Rowling also famously writes under a pseudonym, Robert Galbriath for the Cormoran Strike Series, a well received detective series, following a private investigator in London. There is currently six books out in this series, with a seventh on the way.
DOB
31 July 1965 (As Joanne Rowling) in Yate, Gloucestershire, England.
Genre
Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult and Children’s books.
First Published
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997)
Harry Potter #1
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing
4.47 out of 5 on Goodreads
Book Series
Below you can find out more about the book series that Rowling has done and the best reading order for them.
Notable Awards
J. K. Rowling has won many awards over the years, especially for her Harry Potter series, such as:
- Children’s Book of the Year for Philospher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets
- Whitbread’s Children’s book of the Year for Prisoner of Azkaban
- World Science Fiction Covention’s Hugo Award for Goblet of Fire
- British Book Awards’ Book of the Year for Half-Blood Prince
- In 2000, appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to children’s literature
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
― Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Want to Know More?
If you have enjoyed any of J. K. Rowling’s work and want to learn more about her or any other of her work, then feel free to check out her website.
You can follow her on Twitter to keep up to date with all her upcoming work.
Similar Authors
If you have enjoyed any of J. K. Rowling’s work, then we think that you would enjoy the work of these authors below.
Photo taken from her GoodReads profile