Jump to content

J. K. Rowling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 209.105.200.147 (talk) at 20:30, 9 November 2002. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Joanne Kathleen Rowling (born July 31, 1965) is the British author of the internationally famous series of children's fantasy stories concerning the exploits of the boy wizard Harry Potter. Rowling is married to Dr. Neil Murray and has a daughter from her previous marriage. Outside of Queen Elizabeth II, she is the richest woman in England.

J.K Rowling wrote two adult novels (neither one sold) before she had the idea for Harry Potter during a four-hour train trip. According to her, by the time she reached her destination she had the characters and a good part of the plot for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in her head. She started writing during her lunch hours, and continued working on the manuscript throughout a stint in Portugal teaching English as a second language. The book was completed in Edinburgh after her marriage to Portuguese TV journalist Jorgue Arantes failed and she returned to the UK with her infant daughter.

The Harry Potter series is expected to run to seven volumes of which four have already been published. Year Five, tentatively titled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, has been delayed by a plagiarism suit directed towards her by rival author Nancy Stouffer. Rowling said the new book would be as long as her previous one and would also introduce at least one new character

The Harry Potter books:

Harry Potter-related books:

  • Quidditch Through the Ages
  • Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

(These two purport to be facsimiles of books mentioned in the novels. Fantastic Beasts is a textbook and Quidditch probably the most popular book in the Hogwarts library. They are complete with handwritten annotations and scribblings in the margins, and include introductions by Albus Dumbledore. All proceeds from them go to the UK Comic Relief charity.)

A film of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the USA), directed by Chris Columbus, was released in late 2001.

Rowling, her American publisher Scholastic publications and Warner Brothers were sued in 2001 by Nancy K. Stouffer, author of Rah and the Muggles, featuring Larry Potter, alleging trademark and copyright infringement. When the case finally came to court, in September 2002, it was dismissed by the court on the grounds that Stouffer had lied to the court and falsified documents to support her case. Stouffer was fined $30,000 and ordered to pay part of the defendants' costs.
BBC news report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2268024.stm


FURTHER READING