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If you haven't heard of J.K. Rowling, you live under a rock. She is one of the most popular writers of the past few years thanks to her Harry Potter series. But, life wasn't always magical for Joanne Kathleen Rowling. She's had some tough times but she never gave up on her writing.
J.K.Rowling's Beginnings
Born in Chepstow, Gwent in 1965, J.K. Rowling's favorite subjects in school were English and languages. J.K. went to Exeter University, worked as a secretary and as a teacher, but then fell on hard times. She and her husband divorced shortly after the birth of their daughter and Joanne ended up unemployed and living in a tiny flat (apartment) in Edinburgh with her only child. Of course, maybe it wasn't all bad because it was during this time that she wrote Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone. The idea for the book came to J.K. Rowling while on a train ride. She said that she really liked the idea of creating a place where a child could have power, like Hogwarts (School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry).
J.K. Rowling Gets Published
Bloomsbury Publishing bought Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (published in The United States Of America as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) in 1997 and it was an instant success. Philosopher's Stone won The British Book Awards Children's Book Of The Year and The Smarties Prize and received rave reviews around the world. Since then there have been 4 more Harry tales - The Chamber Of Secrets, The Prisoner Of Azkaban, The Goblet Of Fire and the massive Order Of The Phoenix. J.K. Rowling has plans to write a book for each of the 7 years that Harry Potter is at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry and probably an addtional one. Warner Brothers has the rights to a lot of the books and has already made a bunch of successful flicks (movies).
J.K. Rowling - Did You Knows
The Scottish Arts Council gave her a grant to finish the first book.
J.K. Rowling named Harry Potter after a childhood friend, Ian Potter.
She writes all of her books by hand. She must have been pretty tired by the end of Order Of The Phoenix. When asked what mommies do, J.K. Rowling's daughter (Jessica) once replied, "Mommies write!"
J.K. Rowling Says
"My first book was called Rabbit and I was about six, and I haven't stopped scribbling since."
"It's thanks to my sister Di's great support and encoragement that I finished the first books. She helped me greatly during my hard times, and the only reason I continued with Philosopher's Stone was because she actually laughed (with joy) after reading the first chapter! Otherwise, I would have set Harry Potter aside, like a lot of my other work."
Special thanks to Kidz World for some of the information
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