Joanne Rowling

the author of Harry Potter

FamilyJoanne Rowling was born in 1965 in Bristol (Great Britain), where her parents lived. Joanne had a sister. Her name was Di. She was 2 years younger. The sisters spent a lot of time fighting with each other, although they were best friends.

Childhood

When Joanne was four the family moved to Winterbourne. There were lots of children around living in their new street, among them a brother and sister whose surname was Potter. She liked their name very much, because she wasn't very fond of her own. She enjoyed school in Winterbourne. It was very nice; there were lots of pottery making, drawing and story writing, which suited her perfectly.  

Life in the countryHer parents wanted to live in the country, and around her ninth birthday the family moved to Tutshill, a small village in Wales. Here Joanne went to the secondary school. At school she met Sean Harris, to whom Chamber of Secrets is dedicated. He was the first person with whom Joanne really discussed her serious ambition to be a writer and he was also the only person who thought she was bound to be a success at it.

Mother’s illness

The worst thing that happened during her teenage years was her mother becoming ill. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which is a disease of the central nervous system, when she was fifteen.

University Joanne left school in 1983 and went to study at the University of Exeter, on the south coast of England. She studied French, which was a mistake (it was the wish of her parents). The best of her studying French was that she had a year living in Paris as part of her course.

The idea for Harry PotterAfter leaving university Joanne worked in London in Amnesty International, the organisation that campaigns against human rights abuses all over the world. In 1990 when she was travelling back from Manchester to London on a crowded train, the idea for Harry Potter simply fell into her head. She didn't have a pen, and she was too shy to ask anybody for one.

Portugal

Nine months later Joanne left for Portugal, where she had got a job teaching English in a language institute. She took with her the manuscript of Harry Potter and hoped to finish her novel, which had changed a lot since her mother had died.

Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone

In Portugal Joanne met and married a Portuguese journalist, Jorge Arantes. But just in time for Christmas 1993 she and her daughter Jessica arrived in Edinburgh, where her sister Di was living. Joanne wanted to start teaching again and knew that unless she finished the book very soon, she might never finish it. She set to work and wrote nearly every evening. Whenever Jessica fell asleep in her pushchair she went to the nearest cafe and wrote like mad. Then she had to type the whole thing out herself.

Publishing of the bookFinally it was done. Joanne sent the first three chapters to an agent, who returned them so fast. But the second agent wrote back and asked to see the rest of the manuscript. It took a year for her agent, Christopher, to find a publisher. Then, finally, in August 1996, Christopher telephoned her and told her that Bloomsbury had 'made an offer.' She could not quite believe her ears. She screamed and jumped into the air.

PublicationsHarry Potter series Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (26 June 1997) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (July 1998) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8 July 1999) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (8 July 2000) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (21 June 2003) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (16 July 2005) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (21 July 2007)Other books Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (supplement to the

Harry Potter series) (2001) Quidditch Through the Ages (supplement to the Harry Potter

series) (2001) The Tales of Beedle the Bard (supplement to the Harry Potter

series) (2008)Short Story Harry Potter prequel (July 2008)

Awards and honors 1997: Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, Gold Award for H. P. and the

Philosopher's Stone 1998: Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, Gold Award for H. P. and the Chamber

of Secrets 1998: British Children's Book of the Year, winner H.P. and the

Philosopher's Stone 1999: Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, Gold Award for H. P. and the Prisoner

of Azkaban 1999: British Children's Book of the Year, winner H.P. and the Chamber of

Secrets 1999: Whitbread Children's Book of the Year, winner H. P. and the

Prisoner of Azkaban 2000: British Book Awards, Author of the Year. 2000: Order of the British Empire, Officer. 2003: Premio Príncipe de Asturias, Concord. 2006: British Book of the Year, winner for Harry Potter and the Half Blood

Prince 2007: Blue Peter Badge, Gold. 2008: British Book Awards, Outstanding Achievement. 2009: Légion d'honneur, presented by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. 2010: Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award, inaugural award winner. Honorary degrees: St Andrews University, University of Edinburgh, Napier

University, University of Exeter, Harvard University

Children Joanne Rowling has a daughter, Jessica Rowling Arantes (b. July 27, 1993) and two sons David Gordon Rowling Murray (b. March 24, 2003) and Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray (b. January 23, 2005).

Charity In 2000, Rowling established the Volant Charitable Trust, which uses its annual budget of £5.1 million to combat poverty and social inequality. The fund also gives to organisations that aid children, one parent families, and multiple sclerosis research. Rowling said, "I think you have a moral responsibility when you've been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently."