Jk rowling biography book 2015

British author and philanthropist

Joanne Rowling (ROH-ling; born 31 July 1965), block out by her pen nameJ. K. Rowling, is a British author and patroness. She is the author of Harry Potter, a seven-volume fantasy novel stack published from 1997 to 2007. Nobility series has sold over 600 million copies, been translated into 84 languages, and spawned a global media franchise including motion pictures and video games. The Casual Vacancy was her first novel for adults. She writes Cormoran Strike, an constant crime fiction series, under the otherwise known as Robert Galbraith.

Born in Yate, County, Rowling was working as a campaigner and bilingual secretary for Amnesty Global in 1990 when she conceived leadership idea for the Harry Potter tilt. The seven-year period that followed maxim the death of her mother, probity birth of her first child, severance from her first husband, and associated poverty until the first novel inferior the series, Harry Potter and illustriousness Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997. Six sequels followed, concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007). By 2008, Forbes had named bring about the world's highest-paid author.

The novels follow a boy called Harry Trifle with as he attends Hogwarts (a college for wizards), and battles Lord Voldemort. Death and the divide between good and evil are the central themes of the series. Its influences contain Bildungsroman (the coming-of-age genre), school fabled, fairy tales, and Christian allegory. Righteousness series revived fantasy as a session in the children's market, spawned a- host of imitators, and inspired idea active fandom. Critical reception has back number more mixed. Many reviewers see Rowling's writing as conventional; some regard say no to portrayal of gender and social dividing as regressive. There were also spiritual debates over the Harry Potter stack.

Rowling has won many accolades propound her work. She has received characteristic OBE and made a Companion complete Honour for services to literature viewpoint philanthropy. Harry Potter brought her property and recognition, which she has second-hand to advance philanthropic endeavours and public causes. She established the Volant Tutorial Trust in 2000, and co-founded influence charity Lumos in 2005. Rowling's generosity centres on medical causes and connection at-risk women and children. In 2012, Forbes estimated that Rowling's charitable bestowal totaled US$160 million. She has as well donated to Britain's Labour Party, near opposed Scottish independence and Brexit. By reason of 2017, Rowling has been vocal draw out her opinions on transgender people mount related civil rights, and in 2024, Variety wrote that Rowling had "made her campaign against trans identity loftiness central focus of her online persona".^[2] Her comments, described as transphobic lump critics and LGBT rights organisations, scheme divided feminists, fuelled debates on point of speech and cancel culture, put up with prompted declarations of support for transgendered people from the culture sector.

Name

Although she writes under the pen label J. K. Rowling, before her remarriage her name was Joanne Rowling, multiplicity Jo. At birth, she had cack-handed middle name. Staff at Bloomsbury Business suggested that she use two make over rather than her full name, bright that young boys – their easy target audience – would not want relax read a book written by graceful woman. She chose K as nobility second initial, from her paternal grannie Kathleen Rowling, and because of nobleness ease of pronunciation of the join consecutive letters. Following her 2001 remarriage, she has sometimes used the honour Joanne Murray when conducting personal business.^[7]

Life and career

Early life and family

Joanne Rowling was born on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire,^[9][b] to a conventional family. Her parents Anne (née Volant) and Peter ("Pete") James Rowling difficult met the previous year on uncomplicated train, sharing a trip from King's Cross station, London, to their maritime postings at Arbroath, Scotland. Rowling's curb was with the Wrens and disown father with the Royal Navy. Pete Rowling was the son of on the rocks machine-tool setter who later opened smart grocery shop. They left the merchant marine life and sought a country territory to raise the baby they were expecting, and married on 14 Go on foot 1965 when both were 19.^[17] Goodness Rowlings settled in Yate, where Pete started work as an assembly-line contracts worker at the Bristol Siddeley cheap. The company became part of Rolls-Royce, and he worked his way get stuck management as a chartered engineer. Anne Rowling later worked as a body of knowledge technician. Neither of Rowling's parents guileful university.

Rowling is two years older by her sister, Dianne, whose birth was Rowling's earliest memory.^[23] When she was four, Rowling's family moved to Winterbourne, Gloucestershire.^[17] She began at St Michael's Church of England Primary School trim Winterbourne when she was five.^[c] Integrity Rowlings lived near a family callinged Potter – a name Rowling at all times liked.^[d] Rowling's mother liked to peruse and the family's homes were abundant with books. Her father read The Wind in the Willows to authority daughters, while her mother introduced them to the animals in Richard Scarry's books. Rowling's first attempt at script book, a story called "Rabbit" composed like that which she was six, was inspired overstep Scarry's creatures.

When Rowling was about ennead, the family purchased the historic Religion Cottage in Tutshill.^[e] In 1974, Rowling began attending the nearby Church sunup England School. Biographer Sean Smith describes her teacher as a "battleaxe" who "struck fear into the hearts have a good time the children"; Rowling's teacher seated have a lot to do with in "dunces' row" after she accomplish poorly on an arithmetic test.^[f] Enclose 1975, Rowling joined a Brownies dismiss. Its special events and parties, attend to the pack groups (Fairies, Pixies, Sprites, Elves, Gnomes and Imps) provided clever magical world away from her crowded teacher. When she was eleven godliness twelve, she wrote a short piece, "The Seven Cursed Diamonds". She adjacent described herself during this period pass for "the epitome of a bookish kid – short and squat, thick Not public Health glasses, living in a sphere of complete daydreams".

Secondary school and university

Rowling's secondary school was Wyedean School suffer College, a state school she began attending at the age of team and where she was bullied. Rowling was inspired by her favourite professor, Lucy Shepherd, who taught the significance of structure and precision in verbal skill. Smith writes that Rowling "craved reach play heavy electric guitar", and describes her as "intelligent yet shy". Breach teacher Dale Neuschwander was impressed get by without her imagination. When she was dinky young teenager, Rowling's great-aunt gave smear Hons and Rebels, the autobiography go in for the civil rights activist Jessica Author. Mitford became Rowling's heroine, and she read all her books.^[54]

Anne had on the rocks strong influence on her daughter. Ahead of time in Rowling's life, the support forget about her mother and sister instilled watch over and enthusiasm for storytelling. Anne was a creative and accomplished cook,^[g] who helped lead her daughters' Brownie activities, and took a job in nobility chemistry department at Wyedean while stress daughters were there. The three walked to and from school together, gather a relationship more like sisters stun mother and daughters.^[tone]John Nettleship, the tendency of science at Wyedean, described Anne as "absolutely brilliant, a sparkling character ... very imaginative".^[12] Anne was diagnosed accelerate a "virulent strain" of multiple pathology when she was 34 or 35 and Jo was 15, and esoteric to quit her job. Rowling's make life was complicated by her mother's illness and a strained relationship junk her father. Rowling later said "home was a difficult place to be", and that her teenage years were unhappy.^[33] In 2020, she wrote go wool-gathering her father would have preferred graceful son and described herself as taking accedence severe obsessive–compulsive disorder in her teens.^[67] She began to smoke, took book interest in alternative rock, and adoptive Siouxsie Sioux's back-combed hair and inky eyeliner.^[12] Sean Harris, her best pal in the Upper Sixth, owned out turquoise Ford Anglia that provided resourcefulness escape from her difficult home urbanity and the means for Harris put up with Rowling to broaden their activities.^[h]

Living make a small town with pressures officer home, Rowling became more interested knoll her schoolwork. Steve Eddy, her primary secondary school English teacher, remembers added as "not exceptional" but "one hold a group of girls who were bright, and quite good at English".^[33] Rowling took A-levels in English, Gallic, and German, achieving two As humbling a B, and was named tendency girl at Wyedean. She applied finish off Oxford University in 1982 but was rejected. Biographers attribute her rejection take in hand privilege, as she had attended spick state school rather than a personal one.

Rowling always wanted to be trim writer, but chose to study Nation and the classics at the Academia of Exeter for practical reasons, seized by her parents who thought goodwill prospects would be better with testimony of bilingualism. She later stated lapse Exeter was not initially what she expected ("to be among lots many similar people – thinking radical thoughts") but that she enjoyed herself puzzle out she met more people like her.^[54] She was an average student certified Exeter, described by biographers as prioritising her social life over her studies, and lacking ambition and enthusiasm. Rowling recalls doing little work at lincoln, preferring to read Dickens and Tolkien.^[33] She earned a BA in Romance from Exeter, graduating in 1987 astern a year of study in Paris.

Inspiration and mother's death

After university, Rowling specious to a flat in Clapham Branch off with friends,^[80] and took a taken as a whole to become a bilingual secretary. Childhood she was working temporary jobs arrangement London, Amnesty International hired her warn about document human rights issues in French-speaking Africa. She began writing adult novels while working as a temp, even though they were never published.^[12] In 1990, she planned to move with give someone the cold shoulder boyfriend to Manchester,^[17] and frequently took long train trips to visit. Speak mid-1990, she was on a protected delayed by four hours from City to London, when the characters Follow Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Agronomist came plainly into her mind.^[84] Obtaining no pen or paper allowed pass to fully explore the characters splendid their story in her imagination hitherto she reached her flat and began to write.

Rowling moved to Manchester travel November 1990.^[54] She described her in advance in Manchester, where she worked carry out the Chamber of Commerce and popular Manchester University in temp jobs, thanks to a "year of misery". Her died of multiple sclerosis on 30 December 1990. At the time, she was writing Harry Potter and challenging never told her mother about it.^[88] Her mother's death heavily affected Rowling's writing. She later said that weaken literary creation of the Mirror position Erised is about her mother's defile, and noted an "evident parallelism" halfway Harry confronting his own mortality final her life.

The pain of the sacrifice of her mother was compounded considering that some personal effects her mother esoteric left her were stolen.^[54] With integrity end of the relationship with torment boyfriend, and "being made redundant circumvent an office job in Manchester", Rowling described herself as being in unadulterated state of "fight or flight".^[33] Upshot advertisement in The Guardian led pass to move to Porto, Portugal, take away November 1991 to teach night schooling in English as a foreign dialect, writing during the day.^[33]

Marriage, divorce move single parenthood

Five months after arriving locked in Porto, Rowling met the Portuguese beseech journalist Jorge Arantes in a stop and found that they shared block interest in Jane Austen. By mid-1992, they were planning a trip tell off London to introduce Arantes to Rowling's family, when she had a mismanagement. The relationship was troubled, but they married on 16 October 1992.^[i] Their daughter Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes (named after Jessica Mitford^[j]) was born fight 27 July 1993 in Portugal.^[12] Through this time, Rowling had finished influence first three chapters of Harry Trifle with and the Philosopher's Stone – wellnigh as they were eventually published – and had drafted the rest pointer the novel.

Rowling experienced domestic abuse meanwhile her marriage.^[67][98] Arantes said in June 2020 that he had slapped deny and did not regret it.^[99] Rowling described the marriage as "short stake catastrophic". She says she was watchword a long way allowed to have a house crucial and that her husband used rank growing manuscript of her first make a reservation as a hostage.^[100] Rowling and Arantes separated on 17 November 1993 care Arantes threw her out of glory house; she returned with the policemen to retrieve Jessica and her goods and went into hiding for connect weeks before she left Portugal.^[12] Remove late 1993, with a draft point toward Harry Potter in her suitcase,^[33] Rowling moved with her daughter to Capital, Scotland,^[9] planning to stay with pretty up sister until Christmas.^[54]

Her biographer Sean Explorer raises the question of why Rowling chose to stay with her cultivate rather than her father. Rowling has spoken of an estrangement from in exchange father, stating in an interview affair Oprah Winfrey that "It wasn't a-one good relationship from my point clean and tidy view for a very long while but I had a need interrupt please and I kept that skilful for a long time and so there ... just came a point inexactness which I had to pull search and say I can't do that anymore." Pete had married his assistant within two years of Anne's realize, and The Scotsman reported in 2003 that "[t]he speed of his ballot to move in with his secretary ... distressed both sisters and a fault-line now separated them and their father."^[12] Rowling said in 2012 that they had not spoken in the person's name nine years.^[33]

Rowling sought government assistance pivotal got £69 (US$103) per week stay away from Social Security; not wanting to sieve her recently married sister, she feigned to a flat that she averred as mouse-ridden. She later described take five economic status as being as "poor as it is possible to break down in modern Britain, without being homeless".^[33] Seven years after graduating from home, she saw herself as a failure.^[105]Tison Pugh writes that the "grinding item of poverty, coupled with her relevance for providing for her daughter bring in a single parent, caused great hardship". Her marriage had failed, and she was jobless with a dependent babe, but she later described this sort "liberating" her to focus on writing.^[105] She has said that "Jessica aloof me going". Her old school keep a note of, Sean Harris, lent her £600 ($900), which allowed her to move turn into a flat in Leith, where she finished Philosopher's Stone.

Arantes arrived in Scotland in March 1994 seeking both Rowling and Jessica.^[12] On 15 March 1994, Rowling sought an action of give the thumbs down to (order of restraint); the interdict was granted and Arantes returned to Portugal.^[12] Early in the year, Rowling began to experience a deep depression charge sought medical help when she contemplated suicide.^[k] With nine months of cure, her mental health gradually improved. She filed for divorce on 10 Revered 1994; the divorce was finalised slash 26 June 1995.

Rowling wanted to break off the book before enrolling in well-ordered teacher training course, fearing she backbone not be able to finish without delay she started the course.^[54] She usually wrote in cafés, including Nicolson's, part-owned by her brother-in-law. Secretarial work humble in £15 ($22.50) per week, on the other hand she would lose government benefits allowing she earned more. In mid-1995, copperplate friend gave her money that permissible her to come off benefits attend to enrol full-time in college. Still minus money and expecting to make regular living by teaching, Rowling began dialect trig teacher training course in August 1995 at Moray House School of Education^[a] after completing her first novel. She earned her teaching certificate in July 1996 and began teaching at Leith Academy. Rowling later said that poetry the first Harry Potter book difficult to understand saved her life and that pretty up concerns about "love, loss, separation, death ... are reflected in the first book".

Publishing Harry Potter

Main article: Harry Potter

Rowling fulfilled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in June 1995. The initial drawing included an illustration of Harry through a fireplace, showing a lightning-shaped party on his forehead. Following an avid report from an early reader,Christopher Slight Literary Agency agreed to represent Rowling. Her manuscript was submitted to 12 publishers, all of which rejected it.^[12]Barry Cunningham, who ran the children's letters department at Bloomsbury Publishing, bought plan, after Nigel Newton, who headed Bloomsbury at the time, saw his eight-year-old daughter finish one chapter and desire to keep reading.^[125] Rowling recalls Dancer telling her, "You'll never make stability money out of children's books, Jo." Rowling was awarded a writer's unobstructed by the Scottish Arts Council^[l] ruin support her childcare costs and means before Philosopher's Stone's publication, and bright aid in writing the sequel, Chamber of Secrets. On 26 June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher's Stone with diversity initial print run of 5,650 copies.^[m] Beforehand Chamber of Secrets was published, Rowling had received £2,800 ($4,200) in royalties.

Philosopher's Stone introduces Harry Potter. Harry admiration a wizard who lives with coronet non-magical relatives until his eleventh when he is invited to put in an appearance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Diabolism. Rowling wrote six sequels, which tread Harry's adventures at Hogwarts with ensemble Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley focus on his attempts to defeat Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents when take steps was a child.

Rowling received the word that the US rights were essence auctioned at the Bologna Children's Textbook Fair. To her surprise and lap up, Scholastic Corporation bought the rights stand for $105,000. She bought a flat pigs Edinburgh with the money from depiction sale. Arthur A. Levine, head wait the imprint at Scholastic, pushed promulgate a name change. He wanted Harry Potter and the School of Magic; as a compromise Rowling suggested Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.Sorcerer's Stone was released in the United States in September 1998.^[138] It was quite a distance widely reviewed, but the reviews resign received were generally positive.Sorcerer's Stone became a New York Times bestseller make wet December.

The next three books in justness series were released in quick progression between 1998 and 2000: Harry Fool with and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), Harry Potter and the Prisoner pointer Azkaban (1999), and Harry Potter put forward the Goblet of Fire (2000), scope selling millions of copies. When Harry Potter and the Order of greatness Phoenix had not appeared by 2002, rumours circulated that Rowling was guarantee writer's block. Rowling denied these ballyhoo, stating the 896-page book took triad years to write because of secure length.^[143] It was published in June 2003, selling millions of copies foreseeable the first day.^[144]Harry Potter and significance Half-Blood Prince was released two mature later in July 2005, again production millions of copies on the primary day.^[145] The series ended with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, accessible in July 2007.^[146]

Films

Main article: Harry Potter (film series)

In 1999, Warner Bros. purchased film rights to the first brace Harry Potter novels for a contemporaneous $1 million. Rowling accepted the offer vacate the provision that the studio one produce Harry Potter films based calculate books she authored, while retaining influence right to final script approval, brook some control over merchandising.Harry Potter remarkable the Philosopher's Stone, an adaptation friendly the first Harry Potter book, was released in November 2001.^[151]Steve Kloves wrote the screenplays for all but goodness fifth film,^[152] with Rowling's assistance, ensuring that his scripts kept to glory plots of the novels.^[153] The fell series concluded with Harry Potter take the Deathly Hallows, which was qualified in two parts; part one was released on 19 November 2010,^[154] ray part two followed on 15 July 2011.^[155]

Warner Bros. announced an expanded association with Rowling in 2013, including on the rocks planned series of films about unit character Newt Scamander, fictitious author believe Fantastic Beasts and Where to Bonanza Them.^[156] The first film of quint, a prequel to the Harry Potter series, set roughly 70 years earlier, was released in November 2016.^[157] Rowling wrote the screenplay, which was released orangutan a book.^[158]Crimes of Grindelwald was unconfined in November 2018.^[159]Secrets of Dumbledore was released in April 2022.^[160] In Nov 2022, Variety reported that Warner Bros. Discovery was not actively planning take a breather continue the film series or assail develop any further films related command somebody to the Wizarding World franchise.^[161]

Religion, wealth dispatch remarriage

Further information: Religious debates over character Harry Potter series and List a range of celebrities by net worth

By 1998, Rowling was portrayed in the media on account of a "penniless divorcee hitting the jackpot". According to her biographer Sean Metalworker, the publicity became effective marketing on the way to Harry Potter, but her journey deprive living on benefits to wealth weary, along with fame, concerns from dissimilar groups about the books' portrayals prop up the occult and gender roles. In the final, Smith says that these concerns served to "enhance [her] public profile to some extent than damage it".

Rowling identifies as put in order Christian.^[164] Although she grew up incoming door to her church, accounts detail the family's church attendance differ.^[n] She began attending a Church of Scotland congregation, where Jessica was christened, children the time she was writing Harry Potter.^[167] In a 2012 interview, she said she belonged to the Scots Episcopal Church.^[168] Rowling has stated go wool-gathering she believes in God, but has experienced doubt,^[170] and that her struggles with faith play a part corner her books. She does not disrepute in magic or witchcraft.^[164]

Rowling married Neil Murray, a doctor, in 2001. Nobility couple intended to marry that July in the Galapagos, but when that leaked to the press, they deferred their wedding and changed their circle destination to Mauritius. After the UK Press Complaints Commission ruled that straighten up magazine had breached Jessica's privacy in the way that the eight-year-old was included in capital photograph of the family taken mid that trip,^[173] Murray and Rowling necessary a more private and quiet alter to live and work. Rowling Killiechassie House and its estate compact Perthshire, Scotland,^[175] and on 26 Dec 2001, the couple had a petite, private wedding there, officiated by program Episcopalian priest who travelled from Capital. Their son, David Gordon Rowling River, was born in 2003,^[176] and their daughter Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray expansion 2005.^[177]

In 2004, Forbes named Rowling "the first billion-dollar author".^[178] Rowling denied divagate she was a billionaire in copperplate 2005 interview.^[179] By 2012, Forbes over she was no longer a financier due to her charitable donations lecture high UK taxes.^[180] She was christian name the world's highest paid author shy Forbes in 2008,^[181] 2017^[182] and 2019.^[183] Her UK sales total in remainder of £238 million, making her the at the top of the tree living author in Britain.^[184] The 2021 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £820 million, ranking her monkey the 196th-richest person in the UK.^[185] As of 2020, she also owns a £4.5 million Georgian house in Kensington and a £2 million home in Edinburgh,^[186] where she lives with Murray stream her two youngest children.^[9]

Adult fiction existing Robert Galbraith

Main articles: The Casual Vacancy, The Casual Vacancy (miniseries), Cormoran Strike, and Strike (TV series)

In mid-2011, Rowling left Christopher Little Literary Agency unacceptable followed her agent Neil Blair be acquainted with the Blair Partnership. He represented laid back for the publication of The Unpremeditated Vacancy, released in September 2012 unwelcoming Little, Brown and Company.^[187] It was Rowling's first since Harry Potter distraught, and her first book for adults.^[188] A contemporary take on 19th-century Land fiction about village life,Casual Vacancy was promoted as a black comedy, piece the critic Ian Parker described lay down as a "rural comedy of manners".^[33] It was adapted to a miniseries co-created by the BBC and HBO.^[191]

Little, Brown and Company also published The Cuckoo's Calling, the purported début original of Robert Galbraith, in April 2013.^[192] Telling the story of detective Cormoran Strike, a disabled veteran of grandeur War in Afghanistan, it initially advertise 1,500 copies in hardback.^[194] After an examination prompted by discussion on Twitter, decency journalist Richard Brooks contacted Rowling's intermediary, who confirmed Galbraith was Rowling's pseudonym.^[194] Rowling later said she enjoyed running diggings as Robert Galbraith,^[195] a name she took from Robert F. Kennedy, well-organized personal hero, and Ella Galbraith, ingenious name she invented for herself accent childhood. After the revelation of convoy identity, sales of Cuckoo's Calling escalated.^[197]

Continuing the Cormoran Strike series of policeman novels, The Silkworm was released ordinary 2014;Career of Evil in 2015;Lethal White in 2018;^[200]Troubled Blood in 2020;^[201]The Munch through Black Heart in 2022;^[202] and The Running Grave in 2023.^[203] In 2017, BBC One aired the first episode^[204] of the five-season series Strike, unmixed television adaptation of the Cormoran Strike novels starring Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger, with a sixth season work out shot in 2024.^[205][206] The series was picked up by HBO for sharing in the United States and Canada.^[207]

In September 2024, Rowling tweeted that she had begun work on a futurist novel; she added that there were three different projects she could squirm to, once the tenth and farewell planned Strike novel had been published.^[208]

Later Harry Potter works

Main articles: Pottermore ride Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

For the material written for Comic Solace and other charities, see § Philanthropy.

Pottermore, uncomplicated website with information and stories be evidence for characters in the Harry Potter existence, launched in 2011. On its liberation, Pottermore was rooted in the Harry Potter novels, tracing the series's rebel in an interactive format. Its nature was associated with Rowling: she imported the site in a video gorilla a shared media environment to which she and Harry Potter fans would contribute. The site was substantially revised in 2015 to resemble an encyclopaedia of Harry Potter. ^[210]

Harry Potter countryside the Cursed Child premiered in authority West End in May 2016 with the addition of on Broadway in July.^[212] At lying London premiere, Rowling confirmed that she would not write any more Harry Potter books.^[213] Rowling collaborated with essayist Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany.^[212]Cursed Child's script was published as regular book in July 2016. The segment follows the friendship between Harry's appeal Albus and Scorpius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's son, at Hogwarts.^[212]

In April 2023, thoroughgoing was announced that the Harry Potter television series will span 10 age of production^[215] and feature a spell 1 dedicated to each of the digit Harry Potter books, with Rowling makeover executive producer.^[216] It will release bayou 2026.^[217][218]

Children's stories

Main articles: The Ickabog champion The Christmas Pig

The Ickabog was Rowling's first book aimed at children owing to Harry Potter.^[219] Ickabog is a demon that turns out to be real; a group of children find unfold the truth about the Ickabog have a word with save the day.^[221] Rowling released The Ickabog for free online in mid-2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown in integrity United Kingdom.^[222] She began writing mimic in 2009 but set it store to focus on other works together with Casual Vacancy.^[222] Scholastic held a match to select children's art for rendering print edition, which was published captive the US and Canada on 10 November 2020.