J. K. Rowling

Joanne Rowling (born July 31, 1965) is the British author of the internationally famous series of children's fantasy stories concerning the exploits of the boy wizard Harry Potter. She is one of the richest women in the United Kingdom.

As her publisher, Bloomsbury. wanted to use initials on the cover of the Harry Potter books, Rowling chose to adopt her grandmother's middle name of "Kathleen".

Career Rowling wrote two novels for adults (neither of which sold) before she had the idea for Harry Potter during a four-hour train trip. According to her, by the time she reached her destination she had the characters and a good part of the plot for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in her head. She started writing during her lunch hours, and continued working on the manuscript throughout a stint in Portugal teaching English as a second language. The book was completed in Edinburgh after her marriage to Portuguese TV journalist Jorgue Arantes[?] failed and she returned to the UK with her infant daughter. The book was a huge success, and she has so far had four sequels published. The sales made her a multi-millionaire, and in 2001 she used the proceeds to buy a luxurious 19th century mansion on the banks of the River Tay in the Scottish county of Perthshire.

The Harry Potter series is expected to run to seven volumes, one for each class Harry spends in school. Five of these have already been published. The fifth book, titled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was delayed by an unsuccessful plagiarism suit directed towards her by rival author Nancy Stouffer (see below). The book was released on June 21, 2003.

The Harry Potter books:

• 1997 -- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
• 1998 -- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• 1999 -- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• 2000 -- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• 2003 -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter-related books:

• Quidditch Through the Ages
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The last two purport to be facsimiles of books mentioned in the novels. Fantastic Beasts is a textbook and Quidditch probably the most popular book in the Hogwarts library. They are complete with handwritten annotations and scribblings in the margins, and include introductions by Albus Dumbledore. All proceeds from them go to the UK Comic Relief charity.

A film of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone only in the USA), directed by Chris Columbus, was released in late 2001. Each scene with a mention of the title stone was filmed twice, once for the USA release with sorcerer and once for world release with philosopher. Historically, the magical stone that will change lead to gold was always called the philosopher's stone.
The film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, also directed by Chris Columbus, was released in 2003.

Rowling resisted suggestions by the filmmakers that the movie be set in the United States or cast with American actors (only one American appears in the first film). She only reluctantly went along with the change from philosopher's stone to sorcerer's stone, and limited it to the US only.

Lawsuits Rowling, her American publisher, Scholastic publications[?], and Warner Brothers were sued in 2001 by Nancy Stouffer, author of The Legend of Rah and the Muggles, featuring Larry Potter, alleging trademark and copyright infringement. When the case finally came to court, in September 2002, it was dismissed by the court on the grounds that Stouffer had lied to the court and falsified documents to support her case. Stouffer was fined $30,000 and ordered to pay part of the defendants' costs.

In June of 2003, Rowling announced that she would sue the New York Daily News[?] for $100 million because the newspaper had printed excerpts from her work Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix before the book's official release date.

Family Rowling used to be married to Portuguese TV journalist[?] Jorgue Arantes[?], and they had one child, a daughter named Jessica (born c. 1994), before their divorce.

On December 26, 2001, Rowling married Dr. Neil Murray[?], in a secret ceremony at her home in the Perthshire village of Aberfeldy[?]. On March 23, 2003, Rowling gave birth to her second child, a boy called David Gordon Rowling Murray. The birth took place at the Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health[?] at the New Royal Infirmary[?] in Edinburgh.

External links

• Rowling biography (http://www.edupaperback.org/authorbios/Rowling_JK)
• BBC news report on suit (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2268024.stm)
• "Potter creator buys Scots hideaway (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1670067.stm)" - BBC News article, dated November 22, 2001 (reference)
• "Baby joy for JK Rowling (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2883095.stm)" - BBC News article, dated March 24, 2003 (reference)
• "Potter author has baby boy (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/2883059.stm)" - BBC News article, dated March 25, 2003 (reference)