J. K. Rowling

Joanne Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling is not her legal name; see below for the explanation) OBE (born 31 July 1965), commonly known as J. K. Rowling (pronunciation: role-ing, as in rolling stone) is a British fiction writer. Rowling is most famous as author of the Harry Potter fantasy series, which has gained international attention, won multiple awards and sold a reported 300 million copies worldwide as of 2005. In February 2004, Forbes magazine estimated her fortune as £576 million (just over US$1 billion), making her the first person to become a US dollar billionaire by writing books. Rowling is also believed to be the wealthiest woman in the United Kingdom, well ahead of even Queen Elizabeth II, but this is unproven as the Queen's personal fortune is hidden in 'The Bank of England Nominees' making her fortune known to only her closest officials.http://www.forbes.com/2004/02/26/cx_jw_0226rowlingbill04.html http://www.forbes.com/lists/results.jhtml?passListId=10&passYear=2004&passListType=Person&searchParameter1=unset&searchParameter2=unset&resultsHowMany=25&resultsSortProperties=%2Bstringfield11%2C-numberfield3&resultsSortCategoryName=Country&fromColumnClick=&bktDisplayField=&bktDisplayFieldLength=&category1=category&category2=category&passKeyword=&resultsStart=301

Harry Potter

Six of the seven volumes of the Harry Potter series, one for each of Harry's school years, have already been published.

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Before publishing the first volume, Bloomsbury feared that the target group of young boys might be reluctant to buy books written by a female author. They requested that Rowling use two initials, rather than reveal her first name; because she had no middle name, she chose Kathleen, her grandmother's name.

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The first book was an unexpectedly huge success. Combined with her earnings for the next three books, she became a billionaire. In 2001, she purchased a luxurious 19th-century mansion, Killiechassie House, on the banks of the River Tay in Perthshire, Scotland, where she married her second husband, Dr. Neil Murray, on 26 December 2001.

Related Topics:
2001 - 19th-century - River Tay - Perthshire - 26 December

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The fifth book, titled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was delayed by an unsuccessful plagiarism suit directed towards her by rival author Nancy Stouffer (see below). Rowling took some time off from writing at this point, because during the process of writing the fifth book she felt her workload was too heavy. She said that at one point she had considered breaking her arm to get out of writing, because the pressure on her was too much. After forcing her publishers to drop her deadline, she enjoyed three years of quiet writing, commenting that she spent some time working on something else that she might return to when she is finished with the Harry Potter series.

Related Topics:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Nancy Stouffer

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The Harry Potter books

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (June 26 1997) (titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (September 8 1999)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (July 8 2000)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (June 21 2003)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 16, 2005)
• Quidditch Through the Ages (2001)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2001)

The last two purport to be facsimiles of books mentioned in the novels. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a textbook, while Quidditch Through the Ages is 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. She has contributed money and support to many other charitable causes, especially research and treatment of multiple sclerosis, from which her mother died in 1990. This death heavily affected her writing, according to Rowling.

Related Topics:
Facsimile - Albus Dumbledore - Proceeds - Comic Relief - Multiple sclerosis - 1990

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Harry Potter movies

A film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released in late 2001 and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002.

Related Topics:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 2001 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - 2002

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A darker atmosphere was adopted in the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, attributed to the new director, Alfonso Cuarón. Rowling, who was a fan of Cuarón's work prior to the third film, has stated that the third film is her personal favourite.

Related Topics:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Alfonso Cuarón

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November 2005 will mark the release date of the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Alfonso Cuarón was offered the chance to direct this installment in the series, but declined as he would still be working on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Director Mike Newell decided against the studio's original idea of adapting the 734 page book into two separate films to be released several months apart, figuring that he could cut enough of the book's bulky subplots to make a workable film. The Dursleys were cut from the film due to time constraints, as was Molly Weasley. Mike Newell is the first British director of the series.

Related Topics:
November - 2005 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Alfonso Cuarón - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Mike Newell - British

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Rowling resisted suggestions by the filmmakers that the movies should be filmed in the United States or cast with American actors (only one American appears in the first film). She only reluctantly went along with changing Philosopher's Stone to Sorcerer's Stone, and limited it to the U.S. only. Rowling's insistence on British actors for the main roles resulted in Steven Spielberg passing on the opportunity to direct the series.

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Rowling assists Steve Kloves in writing the scripts for the films, ensuring that his scripts do not contradict future books in the series. She says she has told him more about the later books than anybody else, but not everything. She has also said that she has told Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltrane certain secrets about their characters that are not yet revealed.

Related Topics:
Steve Kloves - Alan Rickman - Robbie Coltrane

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