In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" which was typed on an old manual typewriter. Upon the enthusiastic response of Bryony Evens, a reader who had been asked to review the book's first three chapters, the Fulham-based Christopher Little Literary Agency agreed to represent Rowling in her quest for a publisher. The book was submitted to twelve publishing houses, all of which rejected the manuscript. A year later, she was finally given the green light (and a £1,500 advance) by editor Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury, a publishing house in London. The decision to publish Rowling's book owes much to Alice Newton, the eight-year-old daughter of Bloomsbury's chairman, who was given the first chapter to review by her father and immediately demanded the next.
"Harry Potter"
J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling | "Harry Potter"
Her debut novel was written between approximately June 1990 and some time in 1995. The first was published in 1997 and the last one in 2007. The first novel in the series, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", was published in 1997. 26 June 1997
when did jk rowling wrote the harry potter books
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Additionally, J. K. Rowling answered questions from an open letter written by the site.
Harry Potter Fan Zone | Overview
Rowling also demanded that Coca-Cola, the winner in the race to tie in their products to the film series, donate US$18 million to the American charity Reading Is Fundamental, as well as several community charity programs. Steve Kloves wrote the screenplays for all but the fifth film; Rowling assisted him in the writing process, ensuring that his scripts did not contradict future books in the series. She told Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) certain secrets about their characters before they were revealed in the books. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) asked her if Harry died at any point in the series; Rowling answered him by saying, "You have a death scene", thereby not explicitly answering the question.
J. K. Rowling | "Harry Potter" films
Rowling completed the book while staying at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh in January 2007, and left a signed statement on a marble bust of Hermes in her room which read: "J. K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11 January 2007". In a statement on her website, she said, "I've never felt such a mixture of extreme emotions in my life, never dreamed I could feel simultaneously heartbroken and euphoric." She compared her mixed feelings to those expressed by Charles Dickens in the preface of the 1850 edition of "David Copperfield", "a two-years' imaginative task".
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | Rowling on finishing the book
I never said it was the next thing I'd do." At the end of 2007, Rowling said that the encyclopaedia could take up to ten years to complete. In June 2011, Rowling announced that future "Harry Potter" projects, and all electronic downloads, would be concentrated in a new website, called Pottermore. The site includes 18,000 words of information on characters, places and objects in the "Harry Potter" universe.
J. K. Rowling | Subsequent "Harry Potter" publications
After working as a researcher and bilingual secretary in London for Amnesty International, Rowling moved with her then-boyfriend to Manchester, where she worked at the Chamber of Commerce. In 1990, while she was on a four-hour-delayed train trip from Manchester to London, the idea for a story of a young boy attending a school of wizardry "came fully formed" into her mind. When she had reached her Clapham Junction flat, she began to write immediately. In December, Rowling's mother, Anne, died after ten years suffering from multiple sclerosis. Rowling was writing "Harry Potter" at the time and had never told her mother about it.
J. K. Rowling | Inspiration and mother's death
Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British writer and philanthropist. She is best known for writing the "Harry Potter" fantasy series, which has won multiple awards and sold more than 500 million copies, becoming the best-selling book series in history. The books are the basis of a popular film series, over which Rowling had overall approval on the scripts and was a producer on the final films. She also writes crime fiction under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Born in Yate, Gloucestershire, Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International when she conceived the idea for the "Harry Potter" series while on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990.
J. K. Rowling | Introduction
In May 2008, bookseller Waterstones asked Rowling and 12 other writers (Lisa Appignanesi, Margaret Atwood, Lauren Child, Sebastian Faulks, Richard Ford, Neil Gaiman, Nick Hornby, Doris Lessing, Michael Rosen, Axel Scheffler, Tom Stoppard and Irvine Welsh) to compose a short piece of their own choosing on a single A5 card, which would then be sold at auction in aid of the charities Dyslexia Action and English PEN. Rowling's contribution was an 800-word "Harry Potter" prequel that concerns Harry's father, James Potter, and godfather, Sirius Black, and takes place three years before Harry was born. The cards were collated and sold for charity in book form in August 2008.
J. K. Rowling | Other philanthropic work
Harry Potter is a series of novels written by J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter may also refer to other parts of the franchise:
Harry Potter (disambiguation) | Introduction
In December 2005, Rowling stated on her web site, "2006 will be the year when I write the final book in the "Harry Potter" series." Updates then followed in her online diary chronicling the progress of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", with the release date of 21 July 2007. The book itself was finished on 11 January 2007 in the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, where she scrawled a message on the back of a bust of Hermes. It read: "J. K. Rowling finished writing "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in this room (552) on 11 January 2007." Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the final book (in fact, the epilogue) was completed "in something like 1990".
Harry Potter | Completion of the series
In early 1998, an auction was held in the United States for the rights to publish the novel, and was won by Scholastic Inc., for US$105,000. Rowling said that she "nearly died" when she heard the news. In October 1998, Scholastic published "Philosopher's Stone" in the US under the title of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", a change Rowling says she now regrets and would have fought if she had been in a better position at the time. Rowling moved from her flat with the money from the Scholastic sale, into 19 Hazelbank Terrace in Edinburgh. Its sequel, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was published in July 1998 and again Rowling won the Smarties Prize.
J. K. Rowling | "Harry Potter"
Rowling has said it is unlikely she will write any more books in the "Harry Potter" series. In October 2007, she stated that her future work was unlikely to be in the fantasy genre. On 1 October 2010, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Rowling stated a new book on the saga might happen. In 2007, Rowling stated that she planned to write an encyclopaedia of "Harry Potter"s wizarding world consisting of various unpublished material and notes. Any profits from such a book would be given to charity. During a news conference at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre in 2007, Rowling, when asked how the encyclopaedia was coming along, said, "It's not coming along, and I haven't started writing it.
J. K. Rowling | Subsequent "Harry Potter" publications
In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" which was typed on an old manual typewriter. Upon the enthusiastic response of Bryony Evens, a reader who had been asked to review the book's first three chapters, the Fulham-based Christopher Little Literary Agency agreed to represent Rowling in her quest for a publisher. The book was submitted to twelve publishing houses, all of which rejected the manuscript. A year later, she was finally given the green light (and a £1,500 advance) by editor Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury, a publishing house in London. The decision to publish Rowling's book owes much to Alice Newton, the eight-year-old daughter of Bloomsbury's chairman, who was given the first chapter to review by her father and immediately demanded the next.
J. K. Rowling | "Harry Potter"
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's struggle against Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic and subjugate all wizards and Muggles (non-magical people). Since the release of the first novel, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", on 26 June 1997, the books have found immense popularity, positive reviews and commercial success worldwide.
Harry Potter | Introduction
British author J. K. Rowling did not deliberately name the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from her "Harry Potter" series of books after the hogwort. It was only after the books were published, when a friend reminded her of seeing the plant in the Kew Gardens many years beforehand, that Rowling speculated that the name had remained in her subconscious ever since.
Croton capitatus | In fiction
In December 1999, the third novel, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", won the Smarties Prize, making Rowling the first person to win the award three times running. She later withdrew the fourth "Harry Potter" novel from contention to allow other books a fair chance. In January 2000, "Prisoner of Azkaban" won the inaugural Whitbread Children's Book of the Year award, though it lost the Book of the Year prize to Seamus Heaney's translation of "Beowulf".
J. K. Rowling | "Harry Potter"
Although Bloomsbury agreed to publish the book, Cunningham says that he advised Rowling to get a day job, since she had little chance of making money in children's books. Soon after, in 1997, Rowling received an £8,000 grant from the Scottish Arts Council to enable her to continue writing. In June 1997, Bloomsbury published "Philosopher's Stone" with an initial print run of 1,000 copies, 500 of which were distributed to libraries. Today, such copies are valued between £16,000 and £25,000. Five months later, the book won its first award, a Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. In February, the novel won the British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year and, later, the Children's Book Award.
J. K. Rowling | "Harry Potter"
The book, which was Rowling's debut novel, was written between approximately June 1990 and some time in 1995. In 1990 Jo Rowling, as she preferred to be known, wanted to move with her boyfriend to a flat in Manchester and in her words, "One weekend after flat hunting, I took the train back to London on my own and the idea for Harry Potter fell into my head... A scrawny, little, black-haired, bespectacled boy became more and more of a wizard to me... I began to write "Philosopher's Stone" that very evening. Although, the first couple of pages look nothing like the finished product." Then Rowling's mother died and, to cope with her pain, Rowling transferred her own anguish to the orphan Harry.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Development
K. Rowling's Fan Site Award. Rowling said:
The Harry Potter Lexicon | Overview
The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother, birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and relative poverty until the first novel in the series, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", was published in 1997. There were six sequels, of which the last was released in 2007. Since then, Rowling has written several books for adult readers: "The Casual Vacancy" (2012) and—under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith—the crime fiction "Cormoran Strike" series. In 2020, her "political fairytale" for children, "The Ickabog", was released in instalments in an online version. Rowling has lived a "rags to riches" life in which she progressed from living on benefits to being named the world's first billionaire author by "Forbes".
J. K. Rowling | Introduction
She has said that the last chapter of the book was written "in something like 1990", as part of her earliest work on the series. Rowling also revealed she originally wrote the last words to be "something like: 'Only those who he loved could see his lightning scar. Rowling changed this because she did not want people to think Voldemort would rise again and to say that Harry's mission was over.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | Rowling on finishing the book
Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling. "Harry Potter" related topics include:
Outline of Harry Potter | Introduction
After eight other publishers had rejected "Philosopher's Stone", Bloomsbury offered Rowling a £2,500 advance for its publication. Despite Rowling's statement that she did not have any particular age group in mind when beginning to write the "Harry Potter" books, the publishers initially targeted children aged nine to eleven. On the eve of publishing, Rowling was asked by her publishers to adopt a more gender-neutral pen name in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J.
Harry Potter | Publishing history
There are many fan web sites about "Harry Potter" on the Internet, the oldest ones dating to about 1997 or 1998. J. K. Rowling has an open relationship with her fan base, and since 2004 periodically hands out a "fan site award" on her official web site. The first site to receive the award was Immeritus, a fan site mostly devoted to Sirius Black, and about which Rowling wrote, "I am so proud of the fact that a character, whom I always liked very much, though he never appeared as much more than a brooding presence in the books, has gained a passionate fan-club." In 2004, after Immeritus, Rowling bestowed the honour upon four sites.
Harry Potter fandom | Fan sites
This variation was proposed and then approved by J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter in translation | Plot points
In 1990, Rowling was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry suddenly "fell into her head". Rowling gives an account of the experience on her website saying: Rowling completed "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in 1995 and the manuscript was sent off to several prospective agents. The second agent she tried, Christopher Little, offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to Bloomsbury.
Harry Potter | Origins
As a child, Rowling has said her early influences included "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C. S. Lewis, "The Little White Horse" by Elizabeth Goudge, and "Manxmouse" by Paul Gallico.
J. K. Rowling | Influences
In October 1998, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the first two novels for a seven-figure sum. A film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was released on 16 November 2001, and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" on 15 November 2002. Both films were directed by Chris Columbus. The film version of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was released on 4 June 2004, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. The fourth film, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", was directed by Mike Newell, and released on 18 November 2005. The film of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" was released on 11 July 2007.
J. K. Rowling | "Harry Potter" films
K. Rowling decided on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".
Sambucus | In popular culture
K. Rowling, as well as their film counterparts.
A Very Potter Senior Year | Introduction
Rowling's "Harry Potter" books in 2010.
Raincoast Books | Raincoast Publishing
Exactly four years earlier on that day, author J. K. Rowling's official website revealed the title of the final novel in the series – "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".
Harry Potter (film series) | Final filming
David Yates directed, and Michael Goldenberg wrote the screenplay, having taken over the position from Steve Kloves. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was released on 15 July 2009. David Yates directed again, and Kloves returned to write the script. Warner Bros. filmed the final instalment of the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", in two segments, with part one being released on 19 November 2010 and part two being released on 15 July 2011. Yates directed both films. Warner Bros. took considerable notice of Rowling's desires when drafting her contract. One of her principal stipulations was the films be shot in Britain with an all-British cast, which has been generally adhered to.
J. K. Rowling | "Harry Potter" films
The United Kingdom's domestic abuse commissioner Nicole Jacobs formally advised "The Sun" that it was unacceptable "to repeat and magnify the voice of someone who openly admits to violence against a partner". In December 1993, Rowling and her then infant daughter moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, to be near Rowling's sister with three chapters of what would become "Harry Potter" in her suitcase. Seven years after graduating from university, Rowling saw herself as a failure. Her marriage had failed, and she was jobless with a dependent child, but she described her failure as liberating and allowing her to focus on writing.
J. K. Rowling | Marriage, divorce, and single parenthood
J.K. Rowling wrote a spin-off book about magical creatures to complement the main "Harry Potter" novels, titled "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them".
Fictional universe of Harry Potter | Animals and plants
In June 2007, the Anglican Church published "Mixing it up with Harry Potter", a 48-page book designed to use parallels from the novels to teach the faith to 9–13-year-olds. The author of the book, Kent youth worker Owen Smith, argued that, "These sessions draw parallels between events in the world of Harry and his friends, and the world in which we are seeking to proclaim the gospel to young people [...] To say, as some have, that these books draw younger readers towards the occult seems to me both to malign J. K. Rowling and to vastly underestimate the ability of children and young people to separate the real from the imaginary."
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series | Anglicanism
Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon is a 2008 book by writer and webmistress of The Leaky Cauldron, Melissa Anelli. The book describes the "Harry Potter" phenomenon in detail. The book was published on November 4, 2008, by Pocket Books, and debuted at #18 on "The New York Times" paperback bestseller list. Notably, the book features exclusive interview material and insights from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who also wrote the foreword.
Harry, A History | Introduction
K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), using her grandmother's name as her second name because she has no middle name. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published by Bloomsbury, the publisher of all "Harry Potter" books in the United Kingdom, on 26 June 1997. It was released in the United States on 1 September 1998 by Scholastic – the American publisher of the books – as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", after Rowling had received US$105,000 for the American rights – a record amount for a children's book by an unknown author. Fearing that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with magic (although the Philosopher's Stone is an ancient tradition in alchemy), Scholastic insisted that the book be given the title "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for the American market.
Harry Potter | Publishing history
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling
National Book Awards Children's Book of the Year | 1998
A book written by Roy Clarke and Christine Sparks was released in 1979.
Potter (TV series) | Novelisation
The Harry Potter book series by JK Rowling has resulted in numerous controversies over its publication and content, primarily in the realms of law and religion. For further information see:
Controversy over the Harry Potter series | Introduction
On 26 December 2001, Rowling married Neil Murray (born 30 June 1971), a Scottish doctor, in a private ceremony at her home, Killiechassie House, in Scotland. Their son, David Gordon Rowling Murray, was born on 24 March 2003. Shortly after Rowling began writing "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", she ceased working on the novel to care for David in his early infancy. Rowling is a friend of Sarah Brown, wife of former prime minister Gordon Brown, whom she met when they collaborated on a charitable project. When Sarah Brown's son Fraser was born in 2003, Rowling was one of the first to visit her in hospital.
J. K. Rowling | Remarriage and family
According to Emily Keller, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series shares many similarities with J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Keller says that they both apply the use of an aging wizard mentor (Professor Dumbledore and Gandalf) and a key friendship group is formed to assist the protagonist (an innocent young boy) on their arduous quest to defeat a powerful wizard and to destroy a powerful being.
Intertextuality | Optional
The book was published internationally on 4 December 2008. Rowling also wrote an 800-word prequel in 2008 as part of a fundraiser organised by the bookseller Waterstones. All three of these books contain extra information about the wizarding world not included in the original novels. In 2016, she released three new e-books: "", "Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists" and "Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies".
Harry Potter | In-universe books
Her mother's death heavily affected Rowling's writing, and she channelled her own feelings of loss by writing about Harry's own feelings of loss in greater detail in the first book.
J. K. Rowling | Inspiration and mother's death
In 1982, Rowling took the entrance exams for Oxford University but was not accepted and earned a BA in French and Classics at the University of Exeter. Martin Sorrell, a French professor at Exeter, remembers "a quietly competent student, with a denim jacket and dark hair, who, in academic terms, gave the appearance of doing what was necessary". Rowling recalls doing little work, preferring to read Dickens and Tolkien. After a year of study in Paris, Rowling graduated from Exeter in 1986. In 1988, Rowling wrote a short essay about her time studying Classics titled "What was the Name of that Nymph Again? or Greek and Roman Studies Recalled"; it was published by the University of Exeter's journal "Pegasus".
J. K. Rowling | Education
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. It immediately took first place in UK bestseller lists, displacing popular authors such as John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and Terry Pratchett and making Rowling the first author to win the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year for two years in succession. In June 1999, it went straight to the top of three US bestseller lists, including in "The New York Times". First edition printings had several errors, which were fixed in subsequent reprints. Initially, Dumbledore said Voldemort was the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin instead of his descendant.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Publication
J. K. Rowling, the Harry Potter writer, has been parodied several times:
Parodies of Harry Potter | J. K. Rowling parodies
To further support the CHLG, Rowling auctioned one of seven handwritten and illustrated copies of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", a series of fairy tales referred to in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The book was purchased for £1.95 million by online bookseller Amazon.com on 13 December 2007, becoming the most expensive modern book ever sold at auction. Rowling gave away the remaining six copies to those who have a close connection with the "Harry Potter" books. In 2008, Rowling agreed to publish the book with the proceeds going to Lumos. On 1 June 2010 (International Children's Day), Lumos launched an annual initiative—"Light a Birthday Candle for Lumos".
J. K. Rowling | Anti-poverty and children's welfare
The "Harry Potter" series' most contentious ship debates came from supporters of various potential pairings: Author J.K. Rowling appeared to tamp down the first possibility even before the debates got truly started following the release of "Goblet of Fire" in July 2000, when she stated in October 1999 that Harry and Hermione "are very platonic friends" after the release of "Prisoner of Azkaban" in July 1999. The alternative, which ended up occurring, was of Harry ending up with Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, whose obvious crush on him served as a plot-line starting in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets".
Shipping (fandom) | "Harry Potter" fandom
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the "Harry Potter" series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday, when he receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry makes close friends and a few enemies during his first year at the school, and with the help of his friends, Harry faces an attempted comeback by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents, but failed to kill Harry when he was just 15 months old.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Introduction
Steve Kloves wrote the screenplays for all but the fifth film, which was penned by Michael Goldenberg. Kloves had direct assistance from J.K. Rowling, though she allowed him what he described as "tremendous elbow room". Rowling asked Kloves to remain faithful to the spirit of the books; thus, the plot and tone of each film and its corresponding book are virtually the same, albeit with some changes and omissions for purposes of cinematic style, time, and budget constraints. Michael Goldenberg also received input from Rowling during his adaptation of the fifth novel; Goldenberg was originally considered to adapt the first novel before the studio chose Kloves.
Harry Potter (film series) | Scripts
Prior to the publication of "Deathly Hallows", much of the energy of the Potter fandom was devoted to speculation and debate about upcoming plot and character developments. To this end, clues from the earlier books and deliberate hints from J. K. Rowling (in interviews and on her website) were heavily scrutinised by fans. In particular, fan essays were published on websites such as Mugglenet (the "world famous editorials"), the Harry Potter Lexicon and The Leaky Cauldron (Scribbulus project) among others: offering theories, comment and analysis on all aspects of the series. The Yahoo discussion list Harry Potter for Grown Ups (founded in 1999) is also noteworthy for its detailed criticism and discussion of the Harry Potter books.
Harry Potter fandom | Discussion
J. K. Rowling has repeatedly denied that her books lead children into witchcraft. In an interview with CNN in 1999, she said, I absolutely did not start writing these books to encourage any child into witchcraft. I'm laughing slightly because to me, the idea is absurd. I have met thousands of children and not even one time has a child come up to me and said, "Ms Rowling, I'm so glad I've read these books because now I want to be a witch." In an interview on the "Donny & Marie Show" in 1999, Rowling said that "You have a perfect right, of course, as every parent does, and I'm a parent, to decide what your child is exposed to.
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series | Rowling's response
Rowling expanded the Harry Potter universe with several short books produced for various charities. In 2001, she released "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (a purported Hogwarts textbook) and "Quidditch Through the Ages" (a book Harry reads for fun). Proceeds from the sale of these two books benefited the charity Comic Relief. In 2007, Rowling composed seven handwritten copies of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", a collection of fairy tales that is featured in the final novel, one of which was auctioned to raise money for the Children's High Level Group, a fund for mentally disabled children in poor countries.
Harry Potter | In-universe books
In 2001 J. K. Rowling wrote two books for Comic Relief based on her famous Harry Potter series, entitled "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Ages". The Fantastic Beasts book, would ultimately lead to the mid-late 2010s series of films of the same name as part of the expanded "Potterverse".
Comic Relief | Merchandise
You do not have the right to decide what everyone else's children are exposed to. So that's how I feel about it". "Practicing Wiccans think I'm also a witch", Rowling told "Entertainment Weekly" in 2000. "I'm not."
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series | Rowling's response
Later, she started to attend a Church of Scotland congregation at the time she was writing "Harry Potter". Her eldest daughter, Jessica, was baptised there. In a 2006 interview with "Tatler", Rowling noted that, "like Graham Greene, my faith is sometimes about if my faith will return. It's important to me." She has said that she has struggled with doubt, that she believes in an afterlife, and that her faith plays a part in her books. In a 2012 radio interview, she said that she was a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church, a province of the Anglican Communion.
J. K. Rowling | Religion
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
National Book Awards Children's Book of the Year | 1999
Rowling also revealed some details about the new site in a YouTube video on 23 June 2011.
Pottermore | Development
Hogwarts has to be a boarding school—half the important stuff happens at night! Then there's the security. Having a child of my own reinforces my belief that children above all want security, and that's what Hogwarts offers Harry." Her own mother's death on 30 December 1990 inspired Rowling to write Harry as a boy longing for his dead parents, his anguish becoming "much deeper, much more real" than in earlier drafts because she related to it herself. In a 2000 interview with "The Guardian", Rowling also established that the character of Wart in T. H. White's novel "The Once and Future King" is "Harry's spiritual ancestor." Finally, she established Harry's birth date as 31 July, the same as her own.
Harry Potter (character) | Concept and creation
Pottermore Ltd. is the digital publishing, e-commerce, entertainment, and news company from J. K. Rowling and is a global digital publisher of "Harry Potter" and the Wizarding World. It offers news, features, and articles as well as new and previously unreleased writing by J. K. Rowling. The site features Rowling's thoughts, several pages of unpublished text, and a sales resource for e-book and audiobook versions of the seven "Harry Potter" novels. On 31 July 2011, registration for the limited beta release began. The limited release allowed the first million fans registered to complete The Magical Quill challenge. The original registration was intended to be October 2011, but was delayed until 14 April 2012.
Pottermore | Introduction
This is a list of characters in the "Harry Potter" series. They are all characters who have appeared in a "Harry Potter"-related book by J. K. Rowling.
List of Harry Potter characters | Introduction
"Harry Potter" series by J. K. Rowling Other books (partial list):
Gili Bar-Hillel | Translated books
The statement was met with an ovation from the audience. "If I'd known it would make you so happy, I would have announced it years ago!" Rowling said. In an appearance three days later in Toronto, she responded to questions about Dumbledore's "outing" by saying that she had decided his sexuality "from very early on. Probably before the first book was published."
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series | Dumbledore's sexual orientation
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a fantasy book written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fourth novel in the "Harry Potter" series. It follows Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the mystery surrounding the entry of Harry's name into the Triwizard Tournament, in which he is forced to compete. The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury and in the United States by Scholastic. In both countries, the release date was 8 July 2000. This was the first time a book in the series was published in both countries at the same time.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Introduction
Hosted by Katy McDaniel, a history professor at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, and the Hogwarts Professor, John Granger, Reading, Writing, Rowling had its first episode on August 14, 2017. This monthly podcast is dedicated to discussing literary and other scholarly topics surrounding the "Harry Potter" books, as well as J.K. Rowling's other works. Each episode focuses on a different topic and features a guest who is a prominent researcher, teacher, scholar, or writer.
MuggleNet | "Reading, Writing, Rowling"
Rowling, once a single parent, is now president of the charity Gingerbread (originally One Parent Families), having become their first Ambassador in 2000. Rowling collaborated with Sarah Brown to write a book of children's stories to aid One Parent Families. In 2001, the UK anti-poverty fundraiser Comic Relief asked three best-selling British authors—cookery writer and TV presenter Delia Smith, "Bridget Jones" creator Helen Fielding, and Rowling—to submit booklets related to their most famous works for publication. Rowling's two booklets, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Ages", are ostensibly facsimiles of books found in the Hogwarts library.
J. K. Rowling | Anti-poverty and children's welfare
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts is a guide to the fictional "Harry Potter" universe, written by David Colbert. It explores the references to history, legends, and literature in J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" novels. Colbert conceived the idea for "The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter" while quizzing his nephew and nieces about the mythological references in the novels. He later wrote the book while teaching a seminar on self-publishing to graduate students at the University of North Carolina. The book was published in March 2001, without approval from Rowling, and has since received positive reviews from critics.
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter | Introduction
In early March 2008, "The Student" published an interview with JK Rowling, author of the best-selling "Harry Potter" series. Rowling told "The Student" journalist Adeel Amini that she had considered suicide during her mid-20s but that she had overcome depression through counselling. On 23 March, newspapers from around the world, including "USA Today", the British newspaper "The Times", and several major Indian newspapers published the excerpt from Amini's interview.
The Student (newspaper) | JK Rowling interview
In the build-up to the book's release, Scholastic released seven questions that fans would find answered in the final book: J. K. Rowling arranged with her publishers for a poster bearing the face of the missing British child Madeleine McCann to be made available to book sellers when "Deathly Hallows" was launched on 21 July 2007, and said that she hoped that the posters would be displayed prominently in shops all over the world.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | Marketing and promotion
She also stated that "everything is on a bigger scale," which was symbolic, as Harry's horizons widened both literally and metaphorically as he grew up. She also wanted to explore more of the magical world. Until the official title's announcement on 27 June 2000, the book was called by its working title, 'Harry Potter IV.' Previously, in April, the publisher had listed it as "Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament". However, J. K. Rowling expressed her indecision about the title in an "Entertainment Weekly" interview. "I changed my mind twice on what [the title] was. The working title had got out — "Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament".
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Development
Rowling's youngest child, daughter Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray, to whom she dedicated "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", was born on 23 January 2005. In October 2012, a "New Yorker" magazine article stated that the Rowling family lived in a seventeenth-century Edinburgh house, concealed at the front by tall conifer hedges. Prior to October 2012, Rowling lived near the author Ian Rankin, who later said she was quiet and introspective, and that she seemed in her element with children. , the family resides in Scotland.
J. K. Rowling | Remarriage and family
In June 2006, Rowling, on an appearance on the British talk show "Richard & Judy", announced that the chapter had been modified as one character "got a reprieve" and two others who previously survived the story had in fact been killed. On 28 March 2007, the cover art for the Bloomsbury Adult and Child versions and the Scholastic version were released. In September 2012, Rowling mentioned in an interview that she might go back to make a "director's cut" of two of the existing "Harry Potter" books.
Harry Potter | Completion of the series
Rosen also stated that "J. K. Rowling is more of an adult writer." The critic Anthony Holden wrote in "The Observer" on his experience of judging "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" for the 1999 Whitbread Awards. His overall view of the series was negative – "the Potter saga was essentially patronising, conservative, highly derivative, dispiritingly nostalgic for a bygone Britain," and he speaks of "a pedestrian, ungrammatical prose style." Ursula K. Le Guin said, "I have no great opinion of it. When so many adult critics were carrying on about the 'incredible originality' of the first Harry Potter book, I read it to find out what the fuss was about, and remained somewhat puzzled; it seemed a lively kid's fantasy crossed with a 'school novel,' good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited."
Harry Potter | Literary criticism
In February 2007 it was confirmed that author J. K. Rowling finished the "Harry Potter" series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at this hotel. Rowling left a signed statement written on a marble bust of Hermes in her room saying; ""JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11th Jan 2007"". The room has since been renamed the "J.K. Rowling Suite," and the marble bust has been placed in a glass display case to protect it. The suite, priced at nearly £1,000 per night, is a pilgrimage site for Harry Potter fans.
Balmoral Hotel | J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter (2007)
Bloomsbury accepted the book, paying Rowling a £2,500 advance, and Cunningham sent proof copies to carefully chosen authors, critics and booksellers in order to obtain comments that could be quoted when the book was launched. He was less concerned about the book's length than about its author's name, since the title sounded like a boys' book to him, and he believed boys preferred books by male authors. Rowling therefore adopted the "nom de plume" J.K. Rowling just before publication. In June 1997, Bloomsbury published "Philosopher's Stone" with an initial print-run of 500 copies in hardback, three hundred of which were distributed to libraries.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Publication and reception in the United Kingdom
Before the arrival of J. K. Rowling, Britain's bestselling author was comic fantasy writer Terry Pratchett. His "Discworld" books, beginning with "The Colour of Magic" in 1983, satirise and parody common fantasy literature conventions. Pratchett was repeatedly asked if he "got" his idea for his magic college, the Unseen University, from "Harry Potter" Hogwarts, or if the young wizard Ponder Stibbons, who has dark hair and glasses, was inspired by Harry Potter. Both in fact predate Rowling's work by several years; Pratchett jokingly claimed that he did steal them, though "I of course used a time machine." The BBC and other British news agencies emphasised a supposed rivalry between Pratchett and Rowling, but Pratchett said on record that, while he did not put Rowling on a pedestal, he did not consider her a bad writer, nor did he envy her success.
Harry Potter influences and analogues | "Discworld"
According to Rowling, the idea for both the Harry Potter books and its eponymous character came while waiting for a delayed train from Manchester, England to London in 1990. She stated that the idea of "this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me". While developing the ideas for her book, she also decided to make Harry an orphan who attended a boarding school called Hogwarts. She explained in a 1999 interview with "The Guardian": "Harry had to be an orphan—so that he's a free agent, with no fear of letting down his parents, disappointing them ...
Harry Potter (character) | Concept and creation
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a novel by J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone may also refer to:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (disambiguation) | Introduction
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. and J. K. Rowling v. RDR Books, 575 F.Supp.2d 513 (SDNY 2008) was a copyright lawsuit brought on 31 October 2007 by the media company Warner Bros. and "Harry Potter" author J. K. Rowling against RDR Books, an independent publishing company based in Muskegon, Michigan. Lawyers for Rowling and Time Warner argued that RDR's attempt to publish for profit a print facsimile of "The Harry Potter Lexicon", a free online guide to the "Harry Potter" fictional universe, constituted an infringement of their copyright and was not protected by the affirmative defense of fair use. The trial was held from 14–17 April 2008 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. v. RDR Books | Introduction
Any new works taking place in this universe are released under the "J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World" brand.
Fictional universe of Harry Potter | Introduction
While she points out "as her critics say, Rowling is no Dickens", she says that Rowling "has willed into a fictional being, in every book, legions of new characters, places, spells, rules and scores of unimagined twists and subplots".
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | Critical response
Harry Potter, a seemingly ordinary eleven-year-old boy, is actually a wizard and survivor of Lord Voldemort's attempted rise to power. Harry is rescued by Rubeus Hagrid from his unkind Muggle relatives, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and his cousin Dudley, and takes his place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger become entangled in the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone, which is being kept within the school. In October 1998, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the first four novels of the "Harry Potter" fantasy series by J. K. Rowling for a seven-figure sum, after a pitch from producer David Heyman.
Wizarding World | "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (2001)
In particular, Rowling had trouble with the ninth chapter, "The Dark Mark," which she rewrote 13 times.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Development
J. K. Rowling, author of the "Harry Potter" series, tweeted her condolences upon learning of César's murder, writing:
Caio César | Tributes
Rowling found it difficult to finish "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" because she was afraid it would not live up to the expectations raised by "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". After delivering the manuscript to Bloomsbury on schedule, she took it back for six weeks of revision. In early drafts of the book, the ghost Nearly Headless Nick sang a self-composed song explaining his condition and the circumstances of his unknown death. This was cut because the book's editor did not care for the poem, which has been subsequently published as an extra on J. K. Rowling's official website.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Development
rights to "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", they thought that a child would not want to read a book with the word "philosopher" in the title and, after some discussion, the American edition was published in September 1998 under the title author J. K. Rowling suggested, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". Rowling claimed that she regretted this change and would have fought it if she had been in a stronger position at the time. Academic Philip Nel, who specialises in children's literature, has pointed out that the change lost the connection with alchemy.
Alternative title | Reasons
Above all, believers are called to love, even at the highest cost." In a 1999 interview with Rowling, "The Guardian Unlimited"s Joanna Carey said, "JK Rowling is every bit as witty and subversive as you'd expect. Rowling described her admiration of Jessica Mitford since age 14, her time at Exeter University "not quite the chance to be the 'radical' I planned", and said the later books dealing with Harry's hormones, and deaths would be unlike other children's series like the Famous Five. Carey suggested a parallel between Harry Potter and Prince Harry which Rowling laughs off saying a friend said never let the press make you discuss the royal family." James Morone, a political science professor at Brown University, wrote in the liberal "American Prospect" in 2001, "Magical headmaster Albus Dumbledore practically awards bonus points for breaking rules.
Politics of Harry Potter | Subversive and anarchistic message
Director Steven Spielberg was approached to direct the first film, but dropped out. The press has repeatedly claimed that Rowling played a role in his departure, but Rowling stated that she had no say in who directed the films and would not have vetoed Spielberg. Rowling's first choice for the director had been Monty Python member Terry Gilliam, but Warner Bros. wanted a family-friendly film and chose Columbus.
J. K. Rowling | "Harry Potter" films
and Mrs. Dursley, who treated Harry as a servant. However Harry Potter was a distinctive creation, able to take on the responsibilities of an adult while remaining a child inside. Librarian Nancy Knapp and marketing professor Stephen Brown noted the liveliness and detail of descriptions, especially of shop scenes such as Diagon Alley. Tad Brennan commented that Rowling's writing resembles that of Homer: "rapid, plain, and direct in expression." Stephen King admired "the sort of playful details of which only British fantasists seem capable" and concluded that they worked because Rowling enjoys a quick giggle and then moves briskly forward.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Style and themes
In the seventh novel, Harry speaks with and questions the deceased Dumbledore much like a person of faith would talk to and question God.
Harry Potter | Themes
Before publishing the first "Harry Potter" novel, Rowling spent five years establishing the limitations of magic—determining what it could and could not do. "The most important thing to decide when you're creating a fantasy world," she said in 2000, "is what the characters "can't" do." For instance, while it is possible to conjure things out of thin air, it is far more tricky to create something that fits an exact specification rather than a general one; moreover, any objects so conjured tend not to last.
Magic in Harry Potter | The limits of magic
In January 2008, Rowling appeared and was interviewed on "PotterCast"; during the interview, she called Leaky "[her] favorite fan site." Rowling has written the introduction to Melissa Anelli's nonfiction book "Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon", which was released 4 November 2008. The site also has a good relationship with Warner Bros., the studio producing the film adaptations of the Potter books. The studio regularly sent Leaky images from upcoming films before their official release, and gave Leaky a special preview of redesigns of the official Harry Potter website before the releases of the third and fourth films.
The Leaky Cauldron (website) | Relationship with the franchise
As Harry develops through his adolescence, he learns to overcome the problems that face him: magical, social, and emotional, including ordinary teenage challenges such as friendships, infatuation, romantic relationships, schoolwork and exams, anxiety, depression, stress, and the greater test of preparing himself for the confrontation that lies ahead in wizarding Britain's increasingly-violent second wizarding war. Each novel chronicles one year in Harry's life during the period from 1991 to 1998. The books also contain many flashbacks, which are frequently experienced by Harry viewing the memories of other characters in a device called a Pensieve.
Harry Potter | Plot
Religious debates over the "Harry Potter" series of books by J. K. Rowling are based on claims that the novels contain occult or Satanic subtexts. A number of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians have argued against the series, as have some Shia and Sunni Muslims. Supporters of the series have said that the magic in "Harry Potter" bears little resemblance to occultism, being more in the vein of fairy tales such as "Cinderella" and "Snow White", or to the works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, both of whom are known for writing fantasy novels with Christian subtexts.
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series | Introduction
In the novels, Harry is the only child of James and Lily Potter, orphaned as an infant. Rowling made Harry an orphan from the early drafts of her first book. She felt an orphan would be the most interesting character to write about. However, after her mother's death, Rowling wrote Harry as a child longing to see his dead parents again, incorporating her own anguish into him. Harry is categorised as a "half-blood" wizard in the series, because although both his parents were magical, Lily was "Muggle-born", and James was a pure-blood. Harry's aunt and uncle kept the truth about his parents' deaths from Harry, telling him that they had died in a car crash.
Harry Potter (character) | Family tree
"The Ickabog" is aimed for children between the ages of seven and nine. It is the first children's book written by J. K. Rowling that is not set in the Harry Potter universe, and at its announcement, Rowling confirmed that "The Ickabog" would not be a Harry Potter spin-off. Rowling has described the book as a "political fairytale... for slightly younger children". Rowling first drafted "The Ickabog" between 2003 and 2007, as a gift for her children. She intended to publish "The Ickabog" after the "Harry Potter" series, but stopped after focusing on adult fiction instead. She left her script of "The Ickabog" in her attic until 2020.
The Ickabog | Background and release
In 1995 Little received 3 chapters of a manuscript from J. K. Rowling (then known as Joanne Rowling) who was looking for representation. Looking at a list of literary agents she saw the name "Christopher Little" and, believing it to sound like a character in a children's story, sent him the first three chapters of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". Little responded four days later requesting the balance of the book, thinking there was something special about it. Every major UK publisher turned the book down but a small publishing company had just opened a children’s department Bloomsbury Publishing.
Christopher Little Literary Agency | J. K. Rowling
In 2000, Steve Vander Ark, a librarian from Grand Rapids, Michigan, created the Harry Potter Lexicon, an online encyclopedia of the Harry Potter book series that collected and reorganized various facts from the novels into a searchable form. The Lexicon, which is non-profit, with only its operations paid for by advertising, quickly became a favorite for fans of the books, including Rowling herself, who claimed on her website that "I have been known to sneak into an internet cafe while out writing and check a fact rather than go into a bookshop and buy a copy of "Harry Potter", which is embarrassing." In August 2007, Vander Ark was contacted by Roger Rapoport, President of RDR Books, and asked about the possibility of publishing a for-profit print version of the site.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. v. RDR Books | Origins
J. K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, has recalled that "The Little White Horse" was her favourite book as a child. She has also identified it as one of very few with "direct influence on the Harry Potter books. The author always included details of what her characters were eating and I remember liking that. You may have noticed that I always list the food being eaten at Hogwarts."
Elizabeth Goudge | Influence