J. K. Rowling facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
J. K. Rowling
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Rowling at the White House in 2010
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| Born | Joanne Rowling 31 July 1965 Yate, Gloucestershire, England |
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| Occupation |
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| Education |
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| Period | Contemporary |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Notable awards | Full list |
| Spouse |
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| Children | 3 |
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Joanne Rowling (born 31 July 1965), known as J. K. Rowling, is a British author. She is famous for writing the Harry Potter series. This fantasy series has seven books, published from 1997 to 2007.
The Harry Potter books have sold over 600 million copies. They have been translated into 84 languages. The series also led to a huge global media franchise. This includes popular films and video games. Rowling's books made her the best-selling living author in Britain for a long time.
Contents
J. K. Rowling's Early Life
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Joanne Rowling was born on July 31, 1965. Her parents were Anne and Peter Rowling. They were from middle-class families. Her father's dad owned a grocery shop. Her parents married in 1965.
Joanne has a sister named Dianne, who is two years younger. When Joanne was four, her family moved to Winterbourne, Gloucestershire. She started primary school there at age five. The Rowlings lived near a family named Potter. Joanne always liked that name.
Her mother, Anne, loved to read. Their home was full of books. Her dad read The Wind in the Willows to them. Her mom introduced them to Richard Scarry's animal books.
When Rowling was about nine, her family bought Church Cottage in Tutshill. In 1974, she started attending the nearby Church of England School. In 1975, Rowling joined a Brownies group. The special events and group names like Fairies and Pixies gave her a sense of a magical world.
School and University Years
Rowling went to Wyedean School and College when she was eleven. She was sometimes bullied there. Her favorite teacher, Lucy Shepherd, taught her how important structure and precision are in writing. Another teacher, Dale Neuschwander, was impressed by her imagination.
Rowling's mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when Jo was 15. Rowling later said her teenage years were unhappy. She found home a difficult place to be.
Living in a small town, Rowling focused more on her schoolwork. Her English teacher remembered her as bright. Rowling studied English, French, and German. She was even named head girl at Wyedean. She applied to Oxford University but was not accepted.
Rowling always wanted to be a writer. But her parents wanted her to choose a practical subject. So, she studied French and classics at the University of Exeter. She enjoyed university more after meeting new friends. She spent a year studying in Paris. She graduated in 1987 with a degree in French.
J. K. Rowling's Career Beginnings
After university, Rowling moved to London. She took a course to become a bilingual secretary. She worked temp jobs in London. Amnesty International hired her to document human rights issues. She started writing adult novels during this time, but they were never published.
In 1990, she was on a train from Manchester to London. The train was delayed for four hours. During this time, the characters Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger came to her mind. She had no pen or paper. This allowed her to imagine the story fully before writing it down.
Rowling moved to Manchester in November 1990. She worked temp jobs there. She described this time as a "year of misery."
In November 1991, Rowling moved to Porto, Portugal. She taught English classes at night. She spent her days writing.
In 1993, Rowling returned to the UK. She was a single mother. She felt like a failure because her marriage had ended. She was jobless with a child. But she said this feeling was "liberating." It made her focus on writing. She said her daughter, Jessica, kept her going. A friend lent her money to move to a flat in Leith. There, she finished Philosopher's Stone.
She still needed money and lived on government benefits. She worked as a secretary, earning a small amount each week. This gave her enough time to write. She often wrote in cafés.
In August 1995, Rowling started a teacher training course. She earned her teaching certificate in July 1996. She began teaching at Leith Academy. Rowling later said writing the first Harry Potter book saved her life. She put her feelings about "love, loss, separation, death" into the book.
The Harry Potter Series
Rowling got the idea for Harry Potter in 1990. She was on a delayed train. The next seven years were challenging. Her mother died, she had her first child, and she divorced. She was also quite poor.
The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997. Six more books followed. By 2008, Forbes magazine called her the world's highest-paid author.
Rowling finished the Harry Potter series with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007. The books follow Harry Potter as he attends Hogwarts, a school for wizards. He battles Lord Voldemort. The main ideas in the series are death and the fight between good and evil.
The series helped make fantasy popular again for children. It inspired many other books and a huge fan community. Rowling has won many awards for her work. She has also used her wealth to support charities.
Choosing the Name J. K. Rowling
Staff at Bloomsbury Publishing asked Rowling to use two initials. They thought young boys might not want to read a book by a woman. She chose 'K' for Kathleen, her paternal grandmother's name. She liked how easy it was to say "J. K."
After she remarried in 2001, she sometimes used the name Joanne Murray for personal things.
Publishing Harry Potter Books
Rowling finished Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in June 1995. Her agent sent the book to twelve publishers. All of them rejected it. But Bloomsbury Publishing bought it. The head of Bloomsbury, Nigel Newton, saw his eight-year-old daughter read a chapter and want to keep reading.
Bloomsbury published Philosopher's Stone on June 26, 1997. The first print run was 5,650 copies. Rowling received a grant from the Scottish Arts Council. This helped her with childcare and writing the next book, Chamber of Secrets.
Philosopher's Stone introduces Harry Potter. He is a wizard living with his non-magical relatives. On his eleventh birthday, he is invited to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rowling wrote six more books. They follow Harry's adventures with his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They try to defeat Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents. In the first book, Harry stops Voldemort's plan to get an elixir of life. In Deathly Hallows, the last book, Harry defeats Voldemort.
Scholastic Corporation bought the rights to the book in the US for $105,000. Rowling used this money to buy a flat in Edinburgh. Scholastic wanted to change the title to Harry Potter and the School of Magic. Rowling suggested Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as a compromise. This version was released in the US in September 1998. It quickly became a New York Times bestseller.
The next three books came out quickly: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000). Each sold millions of copies. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published in June 2003. It sold millions of copies on its first day. Two years later, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released in July. It also sold millions on its first day. The series ended with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in July 2007.
Harry Potter Films
In 1999, Warner Bros. bought the film rights for the first two Harry Potter books. Rowling agreed, but only if the studio made films based on her books. She also kept the right to approve the scripts and some control over merchandise.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first film, came out in November 2001. Steve Kloves wrote the screenplays for most of the films. Rowling helped him make sure the scripts followed the books.
The film series ended with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This book was made into two films. Part one was released in November 2010. Part two followed in July 2011.
In 2013, Warner Bros. announced more films with Rowling. These films are about Newt Scamander. He is a character from her book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The first film, a prequel to Harry Potter, came out in November 2016. Rowling wrote the screenplay for it. Crimes of Grindelwald was released in November 2018. Secrets of Dumbledore came out in April 2022.
Later Harry Potter Works
Pottermore is a website with stories and information about the Harry Potter world. It launched in 2011. It was an interactive way to explore the series. The site was updated in 2015 to be more like an encyclopedia. It also promoted the Fantastic Beasts films.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play. It premiered in London in May 2016. It came to Broadway in July. At the London premiere, Rowling said she would not write any more Harry Potter books. Rowling worked with writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany on the play. The play's script was published as a book in July 2016. It follows the friendship between Harry's son Albus and Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius.
In April 2023, it was announced that a Harry Potter television series is coming to the Max streaming service. Each season will be based on one of the seven Harry Potter books. Rowling will be an executive producer for the series.
Adult Fiction and Robert Galbraith
In 2011, Rowling changed literary agents. Her new agent helped her publish The Casual Vacancy. This book was released in September 2012. It was Rowling's first book for adults. It was also her first book since the Harry Potter series ended. Casual Vacancy is a story about village life. It was made into a miniseries by the BBC and HBO.
In April 2013, a new book called The Cuckoo's Calling was published. It was said to be by a new author, Robert Galbraith. The book was about a detective named Cormoran Strike. It sold only 1,500 copies at first. Then, a journalist found out that Robert Galbraith was actually J. K. Rowling. After this was revealed, sales of Cuckoo's Calling went way up. Rowling later said she enjoyed writing as Robert Galbraith. She chose the name from Robert F. Kennedy and a name she made up as a child.
She continued the Cormoran Strike series. Books like The Silkworm (2014) and Career of Evil (2015) followed. The latest book, The Running Grave, came out in 2023. In 2017, BBC One started a TV series called Strike. It is based on the Cormoran Strike novels.
In September 2024, Rowling shared that she had started writing a futuristic novel. She mentioned having three different projects she could work on. This would be after the tenth and final planned Strike novel is published.
Children's Stories
The Ickabog was Rowling's first children's book since Harry Potter. It is about a monster that turns out to be real. A group of children discover the truth and save the day. Rowling released The Ickabog for free online in 2020. This was during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom. She had started writing it in 2009 but put it aside. Scholastic held a competition for children's art for the printed book. The print edition was published in November 2020. Profits from the book went to charities helping with COVID-19 relief.
In The Christmas Pig, a young boy loses his favorite stuffed pig. A new Christmas Pig guides him through a magical Land of the Lost to find it. This novel was published on October 12, 2021. It became a bestseller in the UK and the US.
Philanthropy
J. K. Rowling is also a philanthropist. This means she gives money and time to help others. She co-founded a charity called Lumos. She also set up the Volant Charitable Trust, named after her mother. Rowling's charity work focuses on medical causes. She also helps women and children who are at risk.
She became president of One Parent Families (now Gingerbread) in 2004. She had been an ambassador for them since 2000. She worked with Sarah Brown on a children's storybook to help One Parent Families. She has also donated a lot of money to help women lawyers escape from the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Rowling has given money to support other medical causes. In 2010, she donated £10 million to start a multiple sclerosis research center. This center is at the University of Edinburgh. She gave another £15.3 million to the center in 2019. During the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, she read from Peter Pan. This was part of a tribute to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. She also donated large sums to help with COVID-19 relief. These donations came from royalties for The Ickabog.
Several Harry Potter books have been sold for charity. Profits from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages went to Comic Relief. To help her charity Lumos, Rowling sold a special copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard at auction in 2007. Amazon bought it for £1.95 million. This was a record for a modern literary work. Rowling published the book and donated nearly £19 million from the sales to Lumos.
Rowling and other writers wrote short pieces in 2008. These were sold to help Dyslexia Action and English PEN. Rowling's piece was an 800-word Harry Potter prequel. When it was revealed that Rowling wrote The Cuckoo's Calling, sales increased. She donated the royalties to ABF The Soldiers' Charity.
J. K. Rowling's Family Life
Rowling's mother, Anne, had a big influence on her. Her mother and sister helped her feel confident and excited about telling stories. Anne was a creative cook. She helped with her daughters' Brownie activities. She also worked in the chemistry department at Wyedean School. The three of them would walk to and from school. They shared stories about their day, like sisters.
Her mother died of multiple sclerosis on December 30, 1990. At that time, Rowling was writing Harry Potter. She had never told her mother about it.
Her mother's death deeply affected Rowling's writing. She later said the Mirror of Erised in Harry Potter is about her mother's death. She noted a clear connection between Harry facing his own death and her life.
Personal Life
Rowling met Jorge Arantes, a Portuguese television journalist, in a bar in Porto, Portugal. They married on October 16, 1992. Their daughter, Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes, was born on July 27, 1993, in Portugal.
Rowling and Arantes separated in November 1993 after a serious argument. In late 1993, Rowling moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, with her daughter. She stayed with her sister. She filed for divorce in August 1994. The divorce was finalized in June 1995.
Rowling married Neil Murray, a doctor, in 2001. Their son, David Gordon Rowling Murray, was born in 2003. Their daughter, Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray, was born in 2005.
Interesting Facts About J. K. Rowling
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- When she was born, Rowling had no middle name.
- Joanne's first story was called "Rabbit." She wrote it at age six. It was inspired by Richard Scarry's animal books.
- When she was eleven or twelve, she wrote a short story called "The Seven Cursed Diamonds."
- In secondary school, Rowling wanted to play heavy electric guitar. She was smart but shy.
- As a young teenager, her great-aunt gave her Hons and Rebels. This was the autobiography of civil rights activist Jessica Mitford. Mitford became Rowling's hero. She read all of Mitford's books.
- As a child, Rowling read The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. She also read The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. Other favorites included Manxmouse by Paul Gallico. She also enjoyed books by E. Nesbit and Noel Streatfeild.
- Rowling says Jane Austen is her "favorite author of all time."
- She also acknowledges Homer, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William Shakespeare as literary influences.
- The Casual Vacancy (2012) was her first novel written for adults.
- She writes the Cormoran Strike crime fiction series. She uses the pen name Robert Galbraith for these books.
- Rowling identifies as a Christian. She does not believe in magic or witchcraft.
- In 2004, Forbes named Rowling "the first billion-dollar author." By 2012, Forbes said she was no longer a billionaire. This was due to her charitable donations and high UK taxes.
- She was named the world's highest-paid author by Forbes in 2008, 2017, and 2019.
- Her UK sales are over £238 million. This makes her the best-selling living author in Britain.
- In 2021, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £820 million. This ranked her as the 196th-richest person in the UK.
- As of 2020, she owns a £4.5 million Georgian house in Kensington. She also owns a £2 million home in Edinburgh.
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Awards and Honours
Rowling's Harry Potter series has won many awards. These include awards for general literature and children's literature. She won multiple British Book Awards. The first two books, Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets, won Children's Book of the Year.
The third novel, Prisoner of Azkaban, was nominated for an adult award. She won the children's prize instead. Some felt this showed a bias against children's books. She won the World Science Fiction Convention's Hugo Award for the fourth book, Goblet of Fire. She also won the British Book Awards' Book of the Year for the sixth novel, Half-Blood Prince.
Rowling was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000. This was for her services to children's literature. Three years later, she received Spain's Prince of Asturias Award for Concord. After the Harry Potter series ended, she won the Outstanding Achievement prize at the 2008 British Book Awards.
In 2009, the French president made her a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. Leading magazine editors named her the "Most Influential Woman in the UK" in 2010. In 2017, she was awarded the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH). This was for her services to literature and charity.
Many universities have given Rowling honorary degrees. These include her alma mater, the University of Exeter, and Harvard University. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL). She is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (HonFRSE).
Rowling shared the British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) in 2011. This was for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema for the Harry Potter films. Her other awards include the 2017 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. This was for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. She also won the 2021 British Book Awards' Crime and Thriller prize. This was for the fifth book in her Cormoran Strike series.
J. K. Rowling Quotes
- “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
- “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”
- “The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and must therefore be treated with great caution.”
- “Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.”
Bibliography
| Target/ Type |
Series/ Description |
Title | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young adult fiction |
Harry Potter series | 1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | 26 Jun 1997 | |
| 2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | 2 Jul 1998 | |||
| 3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | 8 Jul 1999 | |||
| 4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | 8 Jul 2000 | |||
| 5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | 21 Jun 2003 | |||
| 6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | 16 Jul 2005 | |||
| 7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | 21 Jul 2007 | |||
| Harry Potter– related books |
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (supplement to the Harry Potter series) | 12 Mar 2001 | ||
| Quidditch Through the Ages (supplement to the Harry Potter series) | 12 Mar 2001 | |||
| Harry Potter prequel (short story published in What's Your Story Postcard Collection) | 1 Jul 2008 | |||
| The Tales of Beedle the Bard (supplement to the Harry Potter series) | 4 Dec 2008 | |||
| Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (story concept for play) | 30 Jul 2016 premiere |
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| Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists | 6 Sep 2016 | |||
| Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies | 6 Sep 2016 | |||
| Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide | 6 Sep 2016 | |||
| Harry Potter– related original screenplays |
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | 18 Nov 2016 | ||
| Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | 16 Nov 2018 premiere |
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| Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore | 15 Apr 2022 | |||
| Adult fiction |
The Casual Vacancy | 27 Sep 2012 | ||
| Cormoran Strike series (as Robert Galbraith) |
1. The Cuckoo's Calling | 18 Apr 2013 | ||
| 2. The Silkworm | 19 Jun 2014 | |||
| 3. Career of Evil | 20 Oct 2015 | |||
| 4. Lethal White | 18 Sep 2018 | |||
| 5. Troubled Blood | 15 Sep 2020 | |||
| 6. The Ink Black Heart | 30 Aug 2022 | |||
| 7. The Running Grave | 26 Sep 2023 | |||
| Children's fiction |
The Ickabog | 10 Nov 2020 | ||
| The Christmas Pig | 12 Oct 2021 | |||
| Non-fiction | Books | Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and Importance of Imagination, illustrated by Joel Holland, Sphere. | 14 Apr 2015 | |
| A Love Letter to Europe: an Outpouring of Love and Sadness from our Writers, Thinkers and Artists, Coronet (contributor). | 31 Oct 2019 | |||
| Articles | "The first it girl: J. K. Rowling reviews Decca: the Letters by Jessica Mitford". Sussman, Peter Y., editor. The Daily Telegraph. | 26 Nov 2006 | ||
| "The fringe benefits of failure, and the importance of imagination". Harvard Magazine. | 5 Jun 2008 | |||
| "Gordon Brown – the 2009 Time 100". Time magazine. | 30 Apr 2009 | |||
| "The single mother's manifesto". The Times. | 14 Apr 2010 | |||
| "I feel duped and angry at David Cameron's reaction to Leveson". The Guardian. | 30 Nov 2012 | |||
| "Isn't it time we left orphanages to fairytales?" The Guardian. | 17 Dec 2014 | |||
| Book | Foreword/ Introduction |
Reynolds, Kim; Cooling, Wendy, project consultants. Families Just Like Us: The One Parent Families Good Book Guide. National Council for One Parent Families; Book Trust. | 2000 | |
| McNeil, Gil; Brown, Sarah, editors. Magic. Bloomsbury. | 3 Jun 2002 | |||
| Brown, Gordon. "Ending child poverty" in Moving Britain Forward. Selected Speeches 1997–2006. Bloomsbury. | 25 Sep 2006 | |||
| Anelli, Melissa. Harry, A History. Pocket Books. | 4 Nov 2008 |
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screenwriter | Producer | ||||
| 2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | Yes | Film based on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | ||
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | Yes | |||
| 2016 | Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | Yes | Yes | Films inspired by the Harry Potter supplementary book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | |
| 2018 | Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2022 | Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore | Yes | Yes | ||
Television
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice actress | Executive producer | ||||
| 2003 | The Simpsons | Yes | Voice cameo in "The Regina Monologues" | ||
| 2015 | The Casual Vacancy | Yes | Television miniseries based on The Casual Vacancy | ||
| 2017–present | Strike | Yes | Television series based on Cormoran Strike novels | ||
See also
In Spanish: J. K. Rowling para niños
