J.K. Rowling Biography PDF

## J.K. ROWLING - Anne Rowling was born in July 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England. - Grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. - Left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, her course including one year in Paris. - As a postgr...

## J.K. ROWLING - Anne Rowling was born in July 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England. - Grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. - 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. - During the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first novel. - Moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. - Married in October 1992 and gave birth to a daughter in 1993. - When the marriage ended, she and Jessica returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was eventually completed. - The book was first published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in June 1997, under the name J.K. Rowling. - The “K”, for Kathleen, her paternal grandmother's name was added at her publisher's request, who thought that a woman's name would not appeal to the target audience of young boys. ### Harry Potter Series: - The second title in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in July 1998, and was No. 1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts for a month after publication. - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was published on 8th July 1999 to worldwide acclaim and spent four weeks at No. 1 in the UK adult hardback bestseller charts. - The fourth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published on 8th July 2000 with a record first print run of 1 million copies for the UK. - It quickly broke all records for the greatest number of books sold on the first day of publication in the UK. - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia on 21st June 2003. - It broke the records set by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as the fastest selling book in history. - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was published in the UK, US and other English-speaking countries on 16th July 2005 and also achieved record sales. - The seventh and final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published in the UK, US and other English speaking countries in 2007. ### Other Books: - J.K. Rowling has also written two small volumes, which appear as the titles of Harry's school books within the novels. - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Quidditch Through The Ages - These were published in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. - In December 2008, The Tales of Beedle the Bard was published in aid of the Children's High Level Group (now Lumos). ### Awards: - J.K. Rowling is the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees including: - OBE for services to children's literature. - The Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, France's Légion d'Honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award. - She has been a Commencement Speaker at Harvard University USA. - She supports a wide number of charitable causes through her charitable trust Volant, and is the founder of Lumos, a charity working to transform the lives of disadvantaged children. ### Other Novels: - In 2012, J.K. Rowling published her first novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy (Little Brown), which has now been published in 44 languages. - J.K. Rowling has also written The Cuckoo's Calling (Little Brown), her first crime novel under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. - This was published in 2013 and is to be translated into 37 languages. - A second Robert Galbraith novel is due to be published in 2014. ### Screenplay: - J.K. Rowling is currently writing the screen play, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, an original story set in the wizarding world. - Some of which will be familiar to Harry Potter fans. - It marks her screenwriting debut and the start of a new film series with Warner Bros. ### Personal Life: - J.K. Rowling lives in Edinburgh with her husband and three children.