Joanne Kathleen Rowling (pronounced rolling) was born on July 31st, 1965 in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England. Rowling writing career started at the age of six when she wrote a story called Rabbit. . After she graduated from Exeter University, she found work as a secretary, and later spent time teaching English in Portugal before moving to Edinburgh, Scotland, with her daughter. She currently resides in Scotland with her husband and two children. Divorced and living on public assistance Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone at a table in a café during her daughters naps. When Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was bought and published by Bloomsbury in 1997 her life changed dramatically, the Harry Potter series has since then won numerous awards and become a tremendous success around the world.
Like that of her own character, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling's life has the luster of a fairy tale. Divorced, living on public assistance in a tiny Edinburgh flat with her infant daughter, it was Harry Potter that rescued her. First, the Scottish Arts Council gave Rowling a grant to finish the book. After its sale to Bloomsbury (UK) and Scholastic Books, the accolades began to pile up. Harry Potter won The British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year, and the Smarties Prize, and rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic.
J. K. Rowling has won the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the Whitbread Award for Best Children's Book, a special commendation for the Anne Spencer Lindbergh Prize, and a special certificate for being a three-year winner of the Smarties Prize, as well as many other honours. She has been a featured guest on "60 Minutes," "The Today Show," and "Larry King Live." Rowling has also been named an Officer of the British Empire.
Rowling first thought of Harry while riding a train back in 1990. "Harry just strolled into my head fully formed." She worked on the book for several years, finding quiet moments while her daughter napped. Several publishers turned down the finished manuscript before one took interest.
In 1998, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published in the United States, kicking off Harry-mania. Suddenly, kids were reading again, and their parents wanted to read the same books! The second and third books were published in the spring and fall of 1999.
On July 8, 2000, the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire became a major celebration, with bookstore events occurring at midnight nationwide. The book sold an unprecedented three million copies in the first 48 hours of release and according to Publishers Weekly is "the fastest-selling book in history."
