JK Rowling

Books reviewed
Bibliography

Joanne Rowling, better known and indeed, EXTREMELY well known around the world as JK Rowling was born in the town of Yate, South Gloucestershire in 1965. She is the most successful literary author of all time and her world-famous Harry Potter series has so far sold a staggering 400,000,000 copies worldwide and has been translated into over sixty five different languages.

JK Rowling went to the University of Exeter where she studied French and the Classics. After leaving university she worked for Amnesty International in London as a researcher and bilingual secretary.

JK Rowling has written fiction since a child, and always wanted to be an author. Her parents loved reading, and their house in Chepstow was full of books. In fact, JK Rowling wrote her first 'book' at the age of six - a story about a rabbit called Rabbit.

The idea for Harry Potter occured to JK Rowling on the train from Manchester to London, where she says Harry Potter "just strolled into my head fully formed", and by the time she had arrived at King's Cross, many of the characters had taken shape. During the next five years she outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was first published by Bloomsbury in 1997.

"It's the flogged horse school of writing. The thing about the 600 words, I mean some day, you can do a very, very, very hard day's work and not write a word, just revising, or you would scribble a few words."
JK Rowling when asked by Jeremy Paxman about whether she wrote until exhaustion stopped her.

Rowling is a great donator to charity and in the future she intends to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia with all profits going to charity. Coca-Cola were forced to give $18m to the American charity Reading is Fundamental in return for being allowed to rights to the movie tie-ins.

JK Rowling has also written two other companion books, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief.

JK Rowling awards

Nestle Smarties Book Prize (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
Children's Book of the Year - British Book Awards (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
Children's Book Award (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
JK Rowling has won the Hugo, Bram Stoker and Whitebread awards for the Harry Potter series.

JK Rowling records

Last 3 volumes of the Harry Potter series have been the fastest selling books in history.
Book 6 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the fastest selling book ever.
JK Rowling is the first person to win the Smarties Prize for literature 3 years in a row.
In the USA, each Harry Potter book reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

JK Rowling influences

Jane Austen - Rowling's all time favourite writer
Paul Gallico - writer of Manxmouse
C.S. Lewis - the Narnia Chronicles
Noel Streatfield

JK Rowling books reviewed

The Tales of Beedle the Bard
JK Rowling
8.0

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers’ attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to H...

$Harry Potter and the Philosopher\'s Stone$

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
JK Rowling
9.4

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy. He lives with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley, who make him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. Then Harry sta...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
JK Rowling
9.0

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's pack...

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
JK Rowling
9.0

Harry is spending another dreadful summer at home with the Dursley's when an unfortunate run in with Aunt Marge ends in her sudden balloon like inflation. Harry runs aw...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
JK Rowling
9.0

Harry Potter is midway through both his training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quiddit...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
JK Rowling
9.0

The fifth installment in the Harry Potter series sees Harry in his fifth year of Hogwarts; his hardest year yet. It's the end of the summer holidays and after a confron...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
JK Rowling
9.5

Voldemort is and growing stronger as is his following and dangerous times are ahead for our hero and his friends. Dumbledore enlists Harry’s help, to convince his old...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
JK Rowling
9.5

Harry has left Hogwarts to dedicate himself to the quest for final Horcruxes, together with his friends Ron and Hermione. Harry is also searching for the answers he feels D...

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
JK Rowling
8.0

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three scho...