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JK Rowling donates £10m to medical research centre

Fantasy author JK Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter phenomenon, has made a very generous contribution to help setup a centre to research the disease multiple sclerosis, which claimed the life of her mother Anne.

The Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic will be based at the University of Edinburgh and will also study other degenerative neurological conditions including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The author said that the work due to be carried out  at the clinic would “more exciting, more innovative and, I believe, more likely to succeed in unravelling the mysteries of MS than any other I had read about or been asked to fund”.

"We can only find improved treatments if we can truly understand diseases and the biological processes behind them. The Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic will enable us to carry out studies that can inform laboratory research and, in turn, this knowledge can be translated back into treatments for patients," said Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, the centre’s co-director. (Daily Telegraph).

The £10m for the new clinic is the largest single donation Rowling has made to a charitable cause and also the largest single donation received by the institution.

MS affects about 100,000 people in the UK, and Scotland has one of the highest rates of sufferers. While doctors know that the disease causes myelin, a protective layer surrounding nerve cells in the brain, to break down, leading to symptoms such as numbness, fatigue and weakness, the exact cause is still not understood.

Posted: September 3rd, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling

Fantasy news round-up, August 24, 2010

James Cameron warned del Toro not to direct the Hobbit
James Cameron has revealed that he advised Guillermo del Toro not to direct The Hobbit because of Peter Jackson’s strong links to the franchise. Del Toro spent several years in New Zealand working on the fantasy prequels, only to drop out earlier this year. Lord Of The Rings director Jackson is now the frontrunner to helm the JRR Tolkien adaptations.

"I was telling Guillermo for a long time to get out of that thing because there is only room for one captain on the ship. Instinctively I knew that Peter was going to take over and do the movie. Guillermo, to his credit, didn’t listen to me and wanted to do continue and had some great designs – and I have seen all the designs."

Shawn Speakman on George RR Martin and the delays surrounding A Dance With Dragons
In a fascinating article on Random House’s Suvudu blog, Shawn Speakman recently wrote:

“I believe the lateness of A Dance With Dragons has very little to do with George’s time away from the keyboard and his extra-curricular activities-time he was taking before Feast when the books were coming out more timely-and more to do with writing himself into a possible corner. For years George has wrestled with the Knot and it has defeated him at almost every turn. In short, if he hasn’t found a solution to the Knot by now, he may never… We know Dance has been difficult to complete because it is the middle part of the series where characters and events have to be lined up just right for the march toward the eventual climax of the series. … What’s changed for George since 2000 is the complexity of the series and entering the all-too-important middle part of the story where delicate care must be given. That’s why, in my opinion, these last two books have been difficult to write. When freewriters enter those parts of their stories, it causes chaos because they have given no forethought to what comes next.”

Syfy reiterate that they will not be picking up Legend of the Seeker 
After persistent pressure from Legend of the Seeker fans, Syfy has once again confirmed that it will not be picking up the cancelled series. The message came in a Twitter post from Craig Engler, Syfy’s head of digital media:

"Dear #LegendoftheSeeker fans. I appreciate your passion, but the Twitter not so much I’m sorry but we’re unable to pick LOTS up."

Syfy had already said more than once that it wasn’t interested in the series, but apparently has had to reiterate its position to stop the steady, in-box-clogging flow of irate/pleading fan emails and tweets.

Durham University to offer Harry Potter course
Students are being given the chance to sign up to the UK’s first course focusing on the world of Harry Potter. The Durham University module uses the works of JK Rowling to examine prejudice, citizenship and bullying in modern society. So far about 80 undergraduates have signed up for the optional module, part of a BA degree in Education Studies. Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion will be available for study next year.

Book sales reach 15 month peak
Book sales have been higher than last year for the fourth consecutive week, the first time the market has experienced continuous growth over a four-week period for almost 15 months. According to Nielsen BookScan’s "Total Consumer Market" panel of some 6,500 UK book retail outlets, just over £2.5m more has been spent on books over the four-weeks to 14th August period in 2010 than last year—up 2.1%, and up 3.3% on the same period in 2008.

Posted: August 24th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: George RR Martin, JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien

Fantasy news round-up, August 2, 2010

Dawn Treader: new movie poster and trailer 
Dawn Treader, the film based on the CS Lewis book from the Narnia Chronicles, is being directed by British filmmaker Michael Apted and has been written by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and Michael Petroni. It will be appearing in cinemas around the world from December 10, 2010 onwards.

There has also been a trailer available for the past month:

Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb – find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world. Joining forces once again with their royal friend Prince Caspian and the warrior mouse Reepicheep, they are whisked away on a mysterious mission to the Lone Islands, and beyond. On this bewitching voyage that will test their hearts and spirits the trio will face magical Dufflepuds, sinister slave traders, roaring dragons and enchanted merfolk. Only an entirely uncharted journey to Aslan’s Country – a voyage of destiny and transformation for each of those aboard the Dawn Treader – can save Narnia, and all the astonishing creatures in it, from an unfathomable fate.

German fantasy authors boast worldwide reach
Children’s books by German authors such as Cornelia Funke and Michael Ende are proving extremely popular worldwide. Books lover in the US, Korea and China love reading, amongst many others, Inkheart and The Neverending Story and since the 1960s German children’s books has slowly but surely conquered the international book market.

"I think that many countries experienced this social shift where people began to take kids more seriously and included them more in the conversation. In that sense, German children’s books were on the cutting edge, and that’s what made them a success abroad," says Regina Pantos, chair of the Association for Children’s and Youth Literature.

Daniel Radcliffe turns 21
Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays Harry Potter in the film franchise, turned 21 on July 23. Born in Fulham, England in 1989, he had only just turned 11 when he was chosen to play the role of the boy wizard from the books by JK Rowling.

Forbes Magazine names JK Rowling as one of the world’s 30 most inspiring women
After seeking input from ForbesWoman followers on Facebook and Twitter, a list was compiled of the 30 Utterly Inspiring Role Models, and JK Rowling was chosen as one of the 30 women who “make the world a better place”. She’s in good company, with Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Danica Patrick, Betty White, Elizabeth Glazer, Condoleezza Rice and Hilary Clinton also included in the list.

Ursula Le Guin allows British students to make one of her short stories into a film
Budding producer Rob Watson (Beaconsfield’s National Film and Television School) wrote a letter to Ursula Le Guin in April asking her for film rights to one of her books, and was shocked by its response. The author immediately wrote back and agreed that they could go ahead with the film without paying a penny for the rights. Now Watson is making one of the biggest student films ever. The 20 minute graduation film The Fleet of Vision is to cost £12,000 and will use sets first used in sci-fi epics like Sunshine and Thunderbirds.

“She doesn’t usually give away the rights to her material but she let us have it for free – it was amazing when we got the reply. Most student films are shot on location but we’re doing pretty much all of this on specially-built sets. There’s even professionally-made spacesuits being used,” said Watson.

Penguin Group see spike in First Half Sales and Profit
Sales at Penguin for the first half of the year rose 9 percent, breaking 493 million pounds. Sales at Pearson, Penguin’s parent, also rose 9 percent in the first half of 2010, with adjusted operating profit increasing by 79% to 178m. Overall, the operating profit at the book publisher more than doubled, hitting 44 million pounds (up from 21 million pounds a year ago). Penguin is one of the most famous brands in book publishing, known around the world for the quality of its publishing and its consistent record of innovation. Over the past five years, Penguin’s sales have increased at an annual average rate of 2% and profits at 5%. In the early part of 2010 Penguin grew well ahead of industry in its major markets and produced a substantial profit improvement. Additionally, Penguin continues to extend their reach to new audiences, most recently with the launch of Apple’s iBookstore and iPad where, in the US, Penguin’s Winnie-the-Pooh was the only book pre-loaded onto the device.

Posted: August 2nd, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: AA Milne, CS Lewis, Cornelia Funke, JK Rowling, Ursula Le Guin

A rebirth for reading: Hollywood turns movie buffs into enthusiastic readers

Article by Nikki Garriques

JK Rowling and her Harry Potter phenomenon were the start of something great for the educators, parents, and authors working diligently to spark some sort of passion for books in the hearts of the world’s distracted, technology drunk preteens and teens.  The age old uphill battle to turn kids on to the wonder of reading had taken a fantastic step forward, ironically by a book so big, it would be terribly difficult for its young reader to carry up a hill.  

As of 2008 the Harry Potter book series has sold more that 400 million copies, has been translated in to 67 languages and the books have consecutively set records as the fastest selling books in history. Rowling was named runner up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year award, noting moral, social and political inspiration.  

When the Harry Potter movies were released not only did current fans rush to the theatre, they brought with them friends who had not read the 700+ page books and the hype spread easily to the young hold outs. Kids who were intimidated by the sheer task of taking on such a physically big book, found they were inhaling the story easily and literature won another victory in  the heart of the reluctant reader.

Just when the industry thought the passion for reading was going to have to thrive on it’s own, Stephenie Meyer released Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse and there was a collective thump as their young hearts waited for each new story.  

To do their part to keep the love affair between leisure reading and reluctant readers alive, US libraries have made a huge effort to welcome young adults and teens, by maintaining separate shelving sections for them.  Paula Brehm-Heeger, (the 2007-2008 President of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association) said, “recently many libraries have worked to enhance these sections so that they are really “spaces” or “destinations” for teens to visit. These spaces include comfortable furniture, technology and group work space. A great example is Phoenix Public Library’s award-winning Teen Central.”

"Kids are buying books in quantities we’ve never seen before and publishers are courting young adults in ways we haven’t seen since the 1940s. We are right smack-dab in the new golden age of young adult literature," said Booklist magazine critic Michael Cart.

“I have been so thrilled to see my genera, that catered to a relatively small group of specific teens in the past, breaking wide open and getting exposure to a much larger audience that maybe didn’t know there was something on the bookshop shelves for them. Stephenie Meyer’s success has been a light shed on a whole genera,” said London based author Nikki Garriques, who writes under the name Kia Storm.

"It is nice to see teens, that were formerly too busy with YouTube and MySpace to read anything of substance, coming back to the bookstores and libraries hungry for entertainment. Hollywood has done a good thing, maybe unknowingly, but it has,” added Garriques.

Nikki Garriques is a native London author who has published twelve short stories published. For more information on Nikki and her work, visit http://kiastorm.blogspot.com.

Posted: July 21st, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer

Special Feature: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

From magical spells to magical creatures, from dark villains to daring heroes, it’s all at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – £169m in the making – which opened June 18 at the Universal Orlando resort. Is it a fitting shrine for the world’s biggest ever book phenomenon? We take a look at the first impressions and experiences of those who have already been lucky enough to have visited.

“For any child (or adult for that matter) who ever dreamed of playing Quidditch, sending something by Owl Post or getting their very own wand, the theme park in Orlando, Florida is as close as you’re ever likely to get. The 22-acre site – part of Universal’s Islands of Adventure park – is dominated by Harry’s school, Hogwarts Castle, with us Muggles making our way through the streets of Hogsmeade Village to get there. And it’s certainly worth it. The queue for the park’s signature ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, is an attraction in itself, with talking portraits, a hologram of Professor Dumbledore in his office (complete with magically moving books) and the sorting hat giving you the safety warnings before you set off. And they’re going to be vital – with thousands of people likely to be flocking to the park over the next few months the queues are expected to be seriously long. But it’s the ride itself that everyone has been waiting for. Deep inside the castle’s walls and the mountain it sits on, you’re strapped into your seat before Hermione casts a spell and you take flight, literally. The designers created new technology that tips you backwards, sideways and every other ways, while intricate sets, animatronics and amazing special effects make you feel as if you’re flying high above Hogwarts,” said Clare Fitzsimons of The Mirror who had a wizard time in Florida.

“An astonishing technological achievement and way beyond my wildest expectations. The Wizarding World Park truly captures the spirit of JK Rowling’s vision and will delight all kids – and grownups – who secretly wished they’d gone to Hogwarts to study potions and wizardry instead of boring old history and geography at muggle school,” said devoted Potter fan Paul Mottram in The Mirror

“The 20-acre park’s crowning glory is the castle, which houses the ride everyone is talking about: The Forbidden Journey. Perched on top of a surprisingly convincing concrete mountain, its tall spires dominate the horizon as they rise up into the blue Orlando sky. Inside, it feels as if its corridors will never end. The park’s designers realised that queues for the ride could be lengthy – one member of staff predicted Muggles could face a five-hour wait on busy days – so they have made the queue part of the experience. You enter via the castle dungeons, suitably dark and dingy but mercifully air-conditioned, then continue up to the animated Portrait Hallway and along to Dumbledore’s office, where a lifelike projection brings the Hogwarts headmaster to life. Projections of Harry, Ron and Hermione greet you as you enter the Defence Against The Dark Arts classroom and, after a brief chat with the Fat Lady portrait, voiced by Dawn French, you make your way through the Gryffindor common room, past the Sorting Hat and on to the ride. As Hermione casts a spell on you, you take flight, dipping and swerving over the Hogwarts roof as you follow Harry on his broomstick. Along the way, you take part in a Quidditch game, have a close encounter with a Whomping Willow, are spat at by giant spiders and come face-to-face with a fire-breathing dragon and the terrifying Dementors. The designers have developed cutting-edge technology, using a combination of advanced robotics and filmed action scenes, to create a convincing, all-immersing experience that has had the desired effect on visitors,” recounted Helen Nicholson of The Daily Mail on her experience in Orlando.

“If God is in the details, then Wizarding World is the holiest place on Earth. From the high-pitched, snow-covered rooflines and tall, crooked chimneys to the Gillyweed seed packets, from Mr. Weasley’s magical car crashed just outside the Dragon Challenge roller coaster to the dusty stacks of narrow boxes in Ollivander’s Wand Shop, Wizarding World is a 20-acre sonnet to the epic saga of JK Rowling with nary a discordant note. Even the lure of massive register ring-ups was sacrificed on the altar of authenticity – shops like Dervish and Banges are so intimate that strollers can’t be manoeuvred through the aisles. Overlooking it all is the silhouette that launched the film franchise, those eerie, stately turrets of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, home here to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a marvel of old and new technology that may be the best theme park ride ever. Undoubtedly, Wizarding World sets new standards for attractions in almost every arena,” commented Mary McNamara in The Calgary Herald.

On the Flight of the Hippogriff ride you pass by Hagrid’s hut and follow his instructions as you learn the proper way to approach a Hippogriff, which has the head of a giant eagle and the body of a horse. Then it’s time to take a "training flight" aboard the Flight of the Hippogriff, an enchanting family coaster woven from wicket and decorated with fluttering leaves representing feathers. Bow as you approach the ‘real’ Hippogriff, and then you’re spiralling and diving around the pumpkin patch, and swooping past Hagrid’s hut.

Visit Ollivanders, Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC. Step into the small dusty shop and gaze up at countless wand boxes stacked to the ceiling. Here, in a unique interactive experience, a Wandkeeper can help the wand choose YOU. You can purchase the wand you tried out, or select from Ollivanders full array of wands including replicas of the Harry Potter film characters’ wands, Collectible wand sets and more.

“For the Florida mini-theme park enjoys the revered blessing of JK Rowling, consulted apparently on everything down to the plastic plates in the Three Broomsticks restaurant. With the books long over and the films all but done, hardened fans of the young wizard simply have nowhere else to go. And lo, they shall likely find that – as much as any theme park spin-off can ever be – it is a fitting shrine to the world’s biggest ever film and book phenomenon, a 20-acre corner of Universal Orlando Resort that is forever Hogwarts,” says Tom Leonard of The Telegraph.

For more information on The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, its rides, shopping and dining experiences, visit http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

Posted: July 14th, 2010
Author: Floresiensis
Categories: JK Rowling

Epic Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer

There are very little words to be used to describe the awesonemess that is this trailer for the first part of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow pair of movies. Just take a look for yourself.

Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him.In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectactular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited. The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again.

Posted: June 29th, 2010
Author: JoshSHill
Categories: JK Rowling

Boris Johnson wants Harry Potter theme park in London

Boris Johnson has expressed his "jealous irritation" at the fact that Orlando is about to become the "official place of pilgrimage for every Harry Potter fan on earth".

The Mayor of London went on urge Harry Potter fans to lobby JK Rowling for a London theme park to rival the 20-acre site that is about to open in Florida.

"I appeal to the children of this country and to their Potter-fiend parents to write to Warner Bros and Universal, and perhaps, even, to the great JK herself. Bring Harry home to Britain – and if you want a site with less rainfall than Rome, with excellent public transport, and strong connections to Harry Potter, I have just the place," said Johnson in his weekly newspaper column.

“But I cannot conceal my feelings; and the more I think of those millions of beaming kids waving their wands and scampering the Styrofoam turrets of Hogwarts, and the more I think of those millions of poor put-upon parents who must now pay to fly to Orlando and pay to buy wizard hats and wizard cloaks and wizard burgers washed down with wizard mead, the more I grind my teeth in jealous irritation. Because the fact is that Harry Potter is not American. He is British. Where is Diagon Alley, where they buy wands and stuff? It is in London, and if you want to get into the Ministry of Magic you disappear down a London telephone box. The train for Hogwarts goes from King’s Cross, not Grand Central Station, and what is Harry Potter all about? It is about the ritual and intrigue and dorm-feast excitement of a British boarding school of a kind that you just don’t find in America,” the London Mayor continued.

"If a business came up with serious plans for a similar theme park for London, the mayor would be interested to hear them."

Posted: June 8th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling

Fantasy news round-up: May 20, 2010

Light a candle for JK Rowling’s charity
JK Rowling‘s children’s charity, Lumos, is asking you to light a virtual birthday candle to support its campaign to deinstitutionalise children in eastern European countries such as Moldova and the Czech Republic. Thousands of children living in these institutions do not know when their birthday is and so choose to celebrate it on 1 June, International Children’s Day. There are currently 1 million children living in large residential institutions across Europe. Contrary to popular opinion, the majority of these children are not orphans, but are disabled, from ethnic minorities or poor backgrounds. For more information, visit www.lumos.org.uk.

Stephenie Meyer to host her own Eclipse press junket
Twilight author Stephenie Meyer has decided to build her own press junket for fans to promote the upcoming adaptation of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. "For Twilight, I did the normal press junket, for New Moon I got to go on Oprah. Both of these were fun, exciting experiences. However, they both had the same drawback, the interviews were designed for a very broad audience, and because of that, most of the questions were about things you guys have known the answers to for years. I feel like all of the basic questions have been answered, and for Eclipse I want to focus on the more specific questions of the readers. To accomplish that, I’m hosting my own mini-junket with a few fansites*. It will be held on Friday, June 18th, the week before the L.A. premiere,” said Meyer.

* Twilight Series Theories, Twilight Source, Twifans, and Letters To Twilight.

London 2012 unveils Games mascots Wenlock & Mandeville
Focus groups of children and families helped form the designs and children’s author Michael Morpurgo added a story concept for an animated series. In author Morpurgo’s vision, the pair begin life as two drops of steel from a factory in Bolton, taken home by a retiring worker who fashions characters out of the metal for his grandchildren.
They appear to have a single central eye, explained as a camera lens, through which they’ll see the world, and respond to it.

Studio Ghibli’s Tales from Earthsea gets US release
Four years ago Hayao Miyazaki’s son Goro directed his first film, the Tales of Earthsea.  Now the film is finally getting a stateside release, featuring the voices of Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin and Mariska Hargitay.  The long hold up was due to the Sci-Fi Channel releasing a mini-series based of the same material from author Ursula Le Guin.

Garth Nix, Helen Garner, Kate Grenville and Shane Maloney help launch new Australian e-store
e-Books written by Australian authors are now available to be read by Australians with the launch of an e-Books store from Redgroup. There are already over 100 local publishers signed up to supply their electronic books to the store which will launch with two million titles. Children’s authors Garth Nix, Helen Garner, Kate Grenville and Shane Maloney are among the local authors whose works will be made available in the electronic form.

Posted: May 21st, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Garth Nix, JK Rowling, Michael Morpurgo, Stephenie Meyer, Ursula Le Guin

Fantasy news round-up – April 19, 2010

RHS backs campaign to give every school child the chance to grow own food
The campaign highlights the health, educational and environmental benefits of food growing, and calls for it to be incorporated as part of a food education for every child. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is backing the campaign – alongside Garden Organic, Good Gardeners Association and the Children’s Food Campaign and chair of London Food Board Rosie Boycott. Michael Morpurgo, children’s author and founder of the Charity Farms for City Children, said: "Children need to connect with the sources of their food. Growing their own produce – in schools, at home, on allotments – is a fine way to achieve this.

First quarter book sales lowest since 2006
Book sales have improved since the dire first two months of the year, but are still well down on 2009, according to analysis of Nielsen BookScan’s first quarter data. The figures show that book spend in the first quarter was at its lowest ebb since 2006, with the year-on-year decline of 5.9% the highest since records began in 2001. The sales data, which cover the first 13 weeks of 2010 to 27th March, show that the inclement weather in January and early February had a catastrophic effect on sales, particularly sales of self-help books and Christmas left-overs. BookScan year-to-date Top 5,000 data suggests that, despite the sharp year-on-year sales declines of Stephenie Meyer and the comparative unpopularity of this year’s £1 World Book Day titles, children’s book sales are relatively flat year on year—helped by strong sales in the Dark Romance genre and bestsellers from the likes of Jeff Kinney, Jacqueline Wilson, Julia Donaldson and Rick Riordan.

JK Rowling open to writing more Harry Potter
As fans eagerly await the two-part film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the final chapter in the boy-wizard series, "Potter" creator JK Rowling is thinking ahead. On Monday the author said that while she has no plans to do so now, she could see herself writing additional tales about the “Boy Who Lived "maybe 10 years from now." Rowling made the remark in Washington, D.C., at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House. She gave a reading to a small group of children and then took questions, The Washington Post reports.

The Witcher: Versus free-to-play web game now levelling up
Inspired by the amoral fantasy books of noted Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher action role-playing games have been slowly building their reputation. But while we await the release of the iPhone and Facebook versions of the The Witcher: Versus game, it’s already playable in its virtual item supported, free-to-play online version. The Witcher: Versus, which will operate across the three platforms, enables you to play as one of three character classes; Witcher, Sorceress, or Frightener. The 2D game play revolves around fighting monsters completing quests, looting weapons, amulets, and magical items, collecting achievements and badges, plus player versus player battles, which scale up to epic guild on guild clashes. The game initially limits you to playing within the Kaer Morhen keep, but when you hit a certain level, you’re allowed out in the big, bad world. Levelling up unlocks further new regions. Players can also unlock items for the upcoming The Witcher 2 PC and console game.

Posted: April 19th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling, Julia Donaldson, Michael Morpurgo, Stephenie Meyer

JK Rowling voted among the top 125 women who changed our world

JK Rowling has made a list that marks the 125th anniversary of US magazine Good Housekeeping. She appeared in  the arts and entertainment section of 125 women. The 44-year-old Harry Potter author is listed because: ‘Anyone who gets hundreds of millions of kids around the globe to love reading is a world-changer in our book.’

Oprah Winfrey was voted the number one woman that has changed our world.

The Top 10 women who changed the world, according to Good Housekeeping magazine (US)

1. Oprah Winfrey: Talk show queen
2. Hillary Rodham Clinton: Secretary of State, former First Lady, former US senator
3. Mother Teresa: Missionaries of charity founder
4. Rosa Parks: Civil rights activist
5. Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady, US delegate to the United Nations, human rights activist
6. Michelle Obama: First African-American First Lady
7. Amelia Earhart: First woman to fly across the Atlantic
8. Princess Diana: Royal and humanitarian
9. Marie Curie: First woman to receive a Nobel Prize
10. Margaret Thatcher: First female Prime Minister of Britain

Joanne Rowling was born in Yate, near Bristol, a few miles south of a town called Dursley. After leaving Exeter University, where she read French and Classics, she started work as a teacher but daydreamed about becoming a writer. One day, stuck on a delayed train for four hours between Manchester and London, she dreamed up a boy called "Harry Potter". That was in 1990. It took her six years to write the book. In the meantime, she went to teach in Portugal, married a Portuguese television journalist, had her daughter, Jessica, divorced her husband and returned to Britain when Jessica was just three months old. She went to live in Edinburgh to be near her sister, Di. Her sudden penury made her realize that it was "back-against-the-wall time" and she decided to finish her "Harry Potter" book. She sent the manuscript to two agents and one publisher, looking up likely prospects in the library. One of these agents that she picked at random based on the fact that she liked his name, Christopher Little, was immediately captivated by the manuscript and signed her on as his client within three days. During the 1995-1996 time-frame, while hoping to get the manuscript for "Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone" published, Rowling worked as a French teacher in Edinburgh. Several publishers turned down the manuscript before Bloomsbury agreed to purchase it in 1996.

Posted: April 19th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling