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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

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When mysterious letters start arriving on his doorstep, Harry Potter has never heard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

They are swiftly confiscated by his aunt and uncle.

Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a strange man bursts in with some important news: Harry Potter is a wizard and has been awarded a place to study at Hogwarts.

And so the first of the Harry Potter adventures is set to begin.

Publishers:
UK Print - Bloomsbury
US Print - Scholastic
eBook - Pottermore
Digital Audiobook - Pottermore
UK Illustrated - Bloomsbury
US Illustrated - Scholastic
UK MinaLima edition - Bloomsbury
US MinaLima edition - Scholastic

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling

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Autem tantas scripserit id eum. Consul vocibus et vix, sed iusto paulo omnium ex, dicit tation ut vel.

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Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

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Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Logan Marshall-Green, Zendaya, and Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

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The True Meaning of Leadership - Taught by Our Children

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Today, while the rest of the world was asleep, children and students in New Zealand woke up, skipped school, and instead flocked together in more than 20 cities around the country to kick off the Global Climate Strike. As morning arose over Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, the same thing happened in more than 2000 cities across 123 countries. It's estimated that millions of people under 20 years old took to the streets.

This is a historic event. Never before have children and young adults organized a global protest, and rarely has the world seen a protest of this scale and scope.

Today is a day that politicians and corporate leaders should note. Why? Because today a new standard for leadership has emerged.

It all started with a 16-year-old Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg. At the age of 9, she became depressed when she learned that we humans are destroying our planet, as we simultaneously post happy, celebratory pictures on social media. She sensed a collective condition of self-deception.

At 15, she decided to take the only action she felt available to a teenager. She went on strike from school, exclaiming that there's no point in studying if we have no future. She created a small banner that read "School strike for the climate" and started a one-person protest in front of the Swedish parliament.

At first, she was ridiculed. But she persisted. She deeply understood that it was the only rational thing to do. After six months of standing outside in the Nordic weather, the media started to pay attention.

Greta is now considered by many to be an oracle. She's been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and invited to present at multiple global forums, including giving a TED talk. While speaking to an assembled crowd of billionaires, heads of state, and celebrities at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in a matter-of-fact way, she said, "Adults keep saying we owe to the children to give them hope. But I don't want your hope. I don't want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. I want you to act if as the house was on fire."

At the United Nations Climate Summit, she asserted, "You only talk about moving forward with the same bad ideas that got us into this mess, even when the only sensible thing to do is pull the emergency brake. You're not mature enough to tell it like it is. Even that burden, you leave to us children. You say you love your children above all else, and yet you're stealing their future in front of their very eyes. "

Fearless, she speaks truth to power. We all know that we're approaching the irreversible climate events that threaten to make earth uninhabitable. Thousands of scientists have documented the trends, the causes, and the likely outcomes - all beyond any reasonable doubt. Still, governments and companies fail to acknowledge this reality, let alone agree on or implement a solution.

Multiple dictionaries define leadership as "the action of leading a group of people or an organization." Any sensible understanding of leadership should focus on the greater good, and especially on the greater good for the long term. In this light, the formal leaders of the world - governments, foundations, think tanks, and corporations - have failed. Miserably.

But today something changed.

Greta Thunberg has inspired a whole new generation of emerging leaders; young people all over the world who take responsibility, who organize themselves around caring for our one and only planet, and who advocate for the long-term greater good.

Today is a day for politicians and corporate leaders to take note. If they care about votes or customers, they must put climate change at the top of their agenda. Like Greta and the young people she's inspired, they must begin to lead for the long-term greater good.

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The True Meaning of Leadership - Taught by Our Children

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Today, children and students all over the world have skipped school, and instead flocked together in more than 2000 cities across 123 countries to participate in the Global Climate Strike. It's estimated that millions of people under 20 years old took to the streets.

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Are Athletes Good Role Models?

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The term role model is defined as "a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially younger people" ( Random House Dictionary). Accordingly, a brain surgeon or airline pilot can be a role model for similarly motivated boys and girls. Role models may have a considerable impact on a person's values, education, and chosen training objectives. For example, they have been shown to have significant effects on female students' self-confidence in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) fields.
What about sport stars as role models?
There's a history of speculation and argument about athletes taking on the status of role models. In 1993, Nike ran a ground-breaking TV commercial from early April through the end of the NBA playoffs. The ad featured Charles Barkley proclaiming "I am not a role model." At the time, he was a superstar hoopster for the Phoenix Suns, and his comment generated quite a stir, as he staunchly defended his position.
What was so controversial about what "Sir Charles" said?
He emphasized that athletes' ability to make baskets or catch touchdown passes has nothing to do with being a role model. That is, having sporting ability doesn't automatically qualify a person to be a role model. Rather, Barkley believed that's a job for parents. I agree and would include teachers and coaches who spend a huge amount of time with kids and influence their upbringing and future success.
Like it or not, our society has a strong dependence on athletes as role models for children and adolescents.
Athletes are role models whether or not they choose to take on the responsibility, and whether they are good or bad role models. But athlete "hero worship" wasn't always as prevalent as it is today. There was a time when others served as America's role models (civic leaders, clergy, legal and medical experts, etc.). It might be argued that the shift reflects decay in our nation's moral standards.

On the other hand, some exceptional athletes have important messages for their fans. For example, former heavyweight boxing champ Lennox Lewis made a significant contribution to youngsters' understanding of appropriate masculine behavior, when he made a public service announcement that "Real men don't hit women." The point is clear: Athletes have an incredible opportunity to use their celebrity power to positively influence the next generation.
What are the qualities that make an athlete a good role model?

Enthusiastic about being a role model. The athlete welcomes the platform for promoting positive societal change-a willing crusader for good.

Altruistic mission. The athlete uses the position to share messages of inspiration and hope-a selfless drive to benefit others.

Makes a commitment to behaving in ways that reflect high moral values. The athlete acts in ways that support personal integrity.

Presents himself or herself in a realistic and responsible manner. "I'm not a role model because I'm a superstar jock, but because I'm a great person." The athlete also helps fans realize that he or she isn't perfect. After all, role models are only people with weaknesses and flaws. They're not immaculate idols.

Freely devotes time and energy to community activities. The athlete makes appearances at neighborhood events, serves on local boards, works with charity organizations, etc.

Champions a mastery goal orientation. The athlete focuses on personal effort and accomplishments instead of making comparisons with others. In a sense, mastery oriented people compare themselves with themselves. They can feel success and satisfaction when they have learned something new, seen skill improvement in themselves, or given maximum effort. Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden captured the essence of a mastery orientation in his famous definition of success: "Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable." (For more information, see my Psychology Today blog titled "How to Be a Winner".)

Possesses a keen sense of empathy. The athlete has the capacity to share or recognize emotions experienced by others. Empathy involves putting yourself in other people's shoes and seeing how much you can truly understand them. It includes caring for others and having a desire to help them. Empathy motivates pro-social behavior designed to aid in solving communal challenges. As emphasized by Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, "When you show empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That's when you can get more creative in solving problems."

Displays a healthy balance between striving for excellence and having fun in the process. The athlete promotes the virtues of working hard to achieve goals and the importance of enjoying the journey.

A word of caution is warranted.
Youngsters who believe their sport heroes are the most fantastic people in the world and can do no wrong are vulnerable to disappointment. Why? Because examples of fallen stars are many, such as Alex Rodriguez and Lance Armstrong who admitted to the use of performance enhancing drugs. When a revered athlete goes astray, it can create disillusionment and even trauma. So, here's the bottom line: Kids shouldn't be allowed to become too attached to athletes as role models.
Do you want to learn more about parenting and coaching young athletes?

The Mastery Approach to Parenting in Sports and Mastery Approach to Coaching are research-based videos that emphasize skill development, achieving personal and team success, giving maximum effort, and having fun.

To access the videos, go to the Youth Enrichment in Sports website.

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The term role model is defined as "a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially younger people" ( Random House Dictionary). Accordingly, a brain surgeon or airline pilot can be a role model for similarly motivated boys and girls.

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Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Aladdin

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I can show you the world Shining, shimmering splendid Tell me, princess, now when did You last let your heart decide? These lyrics defined a generation much like " Do you want to build a snowman? Or ride our bike around the halls? I think some company is overdue I've started talking to The pictures on the walls!" from Frozen has defined the current generation for many young people.

I remember when the animated version of Aladdin was released in 1992. The animation was stunning. The story was engaging. And the music was top notch.

There were few people who didn't fall in love with Aladdin at this time. Now, it's time for a whole new generation to fall in love with the Aladdin story in a whole new way.

Disney released the live-action version of Aladdin to adoring audiences this past weekend. The characters in Aladdin were brought to life in a beautiful way. Aladdin felt so similar to the original animated movie yet so different (in a good way).

The story revolves around a young street urchin turned prince named Aladdin (Mena Massoud). His pursuit of Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) leads him into the evil clutches of the Royal Vizier Jafar (Marwan Kenzari). Through this encounter with Jafar, Aladdin finds a magical lamp and meets with the Genie (Will Smith).

Disney and the cast did a terrific job of bringing the classic animated movie to real life. They also did a great job of bringing Reel Leadership lessons to the screen.

There are plenty of leadership lessons in Aladdin. You'll discover them as we take the magic ride through Aladdin through the eyes of Reel Leadership.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Aladdin

1. The desire for more isn't what life is about:

Aladdin opens with a small boat passing a larger boat. Two children were discussing how great it would be to own such a large vessel. Then their father, the mariner (Will Smith), breaks into their conversation.

He tells them he has a story to tell them. That the desire for larger things isn't what life is about. And we dive into the tale of Aladdin.

We've been inundated with conversations on how to get more. How to be more. How we shouldn't settle for less than what we deserve.

But what if all of that isn't the truth? What if you and I could be happy with what we have right here, right now? The world would be a better place.

Now, there's nothing wrong with having a desire for more. It's when the desire for more begins to consume you, this is when the desire is wrong. Be careful that your desire isn't consuming and changing you.

2. Great leaders are generous leaders:

Aladdin didn't have much. In fact, he was a thief to survive. He would steal from the local merchants and customers.

Bracelets... Fruits... Clothing... Nothing was safe from young Aladdin's hands.

However, Aladdin wasn't thinking only of himself when he stole. There is a scene in the movie where he sees a young boy who looks hungry. Aladdin has a bag of dates. He chose to give those dates to the young boy instead of eating them himself.

Aladdin was a thief, yes. He was also generous with what he had.

How are you with generosity? Do you see your ability to gain and build wealth strictly for your benefit? Or is there a greater desire for your money and possessions?

Great leaders know they won't be able to take their wealth with them. They also know they can make more money even if they give it away. They see the ability to give as a blessing. One they must honor.

They look for ways to give back to those they lead and to their community. They look for ways to invest in worthy organizations, their churches, and the people they do life with.

Be a generous leader.

3. Aladdin:

Where's the fun in that?

By this point in the movie, Aladdin had met a disguised Jasmine. They were running from the guards. They had to escape.

Aladdin saw an escape path. He could jump out a window, land on a cloth awning, bounce off of another, and get to the ground.

The disguised Jasmine chastised Aladdin for taking such a risk. It was dangerous and there was an easier path. Aladdin's answer? Where's the fun in that?

When you're leading, you don't have to be serious all of the time. There is a time and place for seriousness. There's also a time and a place for fun.

Look for ways to introduce you and your team to fun activities. You might make a fun game time during lunch. Or you could introduce fun colors to the office.

The office doesn't have to be boring and drab. There can be fun.

4. Your vantage point is different the higher you get:

Princess Jasmine was often barred from leaving the castle. Her father, the Sultan (Navid Negahban), wanted to keep her safe. That was his way of protecting his daughter.

The Sultan's actions kept her from seeing the world around her. She had one point of view. This view was limited in scope.

While hanging out with Aladdin, she was able to go higher and higher in the city. She eventually looked out over the city from Aladdin's house.

The view was stunning. It was like nothing she had ever seen before.

Changing her vantage point changed what Jasmine saw. The higher she got in the city, the more she could see. The same happens with leadership.

When you rise in the ranks, your vantage point changes. You will see different aspects of the organization. Many you never saw or thought about before.

Take it in when you rise up a level. Look over what you can now see.

5. Give people something new:

Many classic songs make a return in the Aladdin remake. You will still hear songs like the Genie's You've Got A Friend In Me and A Whole New World. They knew they had to keep the classic soundtrack.

They also knew they had to give the audience something new. One of the new things in Aladdin is an update of the classic songs. There's been some changes to the songs you remember. And the changes were fun.

There's also the addition of two new songs in Aladdin. They gave the audience something new to go along with the old.

You can check out the Aladdin soundtrack on Amazon

Your organization's offerings may be stagnant. They may rarely change. This doesn't mean you can't give your customers something new once in a while.

Look for ways to introduce a new way to deliver your current products. Find a chance to introduce a twist to your current offerings.

Little tweaks along the way can add in big delight for your customers.

6. Beware of bad counsel:

Jafar was out for his own desires. He wanted the power of the Sultan. He actively pursued it.

So much so, he was using his snake staff to hypnotize the Sultan to do his bidding. Under his spell, Jafar would offer ideas to the Sultan. Ideas the Sultan would never think of without the bad counsel.

You may believe everyone on your team is out for the betterment of the team. There will be people who are only looking out for themselves. In doing so, they will offer up bad counsel.

Measure the advice you're given. Make sure it aligns with the values of your organization. Make sure you're not being used to do something that isn't right.

7. Jafar:

You cannot read experience.

While Jafar is the villain in Aladdin, he also has his moments of wisdom. When he uttered the line of "You cannot read experience," he was speaking the truth.

You can read all you want. You can fill yourself with as much knowledge as your mind can hold. What you cannot do is gain experience from reading. You have to experience things to gain experience.

If you're not out there, doing things, you're not gaining experience. You need to put to use what you're learning. What you're reading.

Only by doing, will you become a better leader.

8. Jasmine (repeating a saying from her mother):

We can only be as happy as our least happy subject.

Jasmine was thinking about the things her mother used to say. One of those was the line above.

Have you ever thought about this? As a leader, can you truly be happier than the least of those you serve? I think Jasmine's mother was onto something with this.

We may be able to appear happier. But are we?

If you know you're hurting someone. If you're not being fair to someone. Or showing respect to those you lead... Are you really going to be happy doing what you're doing?

Look out for the welfare of those you lead. Their happiness will impact your happiness.

9. Have friends who will hold you accountable:

Aladdin entered the Cave of Wonders under the orders of Jafar. He was to seek out the Genie's lamp and return the lamp to Jafar. Along the way, he was not to touch anything in the cave.

There was a temptation. Aladdin wanted to touch some of the jewelry as they sought the magical lamp. At that moment, Aladdin had a friend to hold him accountable. Abu was that friend.

Abu slapped Aladdin when he reached for the jewelry. He was there to make sure Aladdin was going to stay on track.

Do you have a friend who will hold you accountable? The decisions of a leader carry a lot of weight. The decisions also affect many people.

Having someone who will tell you to do the right thing will be a godsend. You need to have a friend in your life who you will hold you accountable with the decisions you make.

10. Genie:

There isn't enough money and power in the world for you to be satisfied.

Genie told Aladdin a truth few too many people truly grasp. Genie told Aladdin regardless of the money or the power he gains, he will never be truly satisfied. Power and money only create a desire for more power and money.

Have you fallen into this trap? Do you look for the next best opportunity? We have to be careful about what we desire.

Money... Power... These things will not satisfy you. You will always desire more if this is what you're chasing after.

When we seek the tempory, we won't be satisfied. We have to seek out the eternal.

11. Be interested in what other people desire:

Genie and Aladdin had a little heart to heart conversation. During the conversation, Aladdin asked Genie what he would wish for.

Genie's response may surprise you. No one had ever asked Genie what he would wish for. This left him speechless.

Aladdin was interested in what Genie would want. He was also willing to give Genie what he wished for.

When's the last time you asked your team what they desired or would wish for? If it wasn't recently, you need to find time to ask your team this question.

By learning what your team desires, you learn what motivates them. Their motivation will vary from team member to team member but you will get an understanding of why they're working.

Get to know your people. Learn their desires. Help them fulfill them.

12. Genie:

When you're the genie, someone always wants something from you.

Because of the Genie's ability to grant wishes, everyone he meets wants something from him. They desire him to grant their wishes and make him happy.

This is a lonely road. He doesn't have a true friend because he can give people everything they want while he's held captive.

Sometimes, leadership can feel this way. Your team will constantly come to you... Looking for you to give them something.

Whether it's a promotion, raise, or wisdom, people will seek you for the things you can provide. Leadership can become lonely ... Even hurtful.

Know you're putting yourself in a position to have a lot asked of you. Be willing to give.

13. Great leaders inspire trust:

Aladdin, as Prince Ali, showed Jasmine his magic carpet. He asked her to get on the carpet with him.

To do so, he had to gain the trust of Jasmine. He did. She went on the magic carpet ride.

Great leaders have to inspire trust. They know their team will constantly question them if there's a lack of trust.

Work on building trust with those you lead. Be a leader they can trust.

14. Jasmine:

It's them. The people that make it beautiful.

Jasmine saw the city of Agrabah while riding on the carpet. She commented on how beautiful the city was.

The thing that made the city the most beautiful? The people within the city.

Do you know what makes your organization great? It's not you or the other leaders.

What makes your organization great is the people within the organization. Know your people are your greatest asset.

15. Real character shines through:

Aladdin had asked Genie to make him into a prince. This transformation hid who he really was from those he encountered.

Looking at Aladdin, they would only see the prince. They wouldn't see him.

But Jasmine saw through the change. She saw Prince Ali for who he really was. She saw Aladdin.

Why did she see Aladdin? Because she could see his character. This was something the Genie couldn't change.

There's a lot of talk about fake it until you make it. It's good advice. It can help you get over your insecurities and succeed where you couldn't without that belief in yourself.

However, the fake it until you make it belief won't change who you are. You can't fake good character. Your character will eventually expose you for who you are.

If your character is good, that is awesome. People will see you are good. If your character is bad... You better watch out.

16. Speak to the heart of your people:

Jafar gained control of the lamp and Genie. He used one of his wishes to make him into the Sultan.

With the power of the Sultan comes control of the royal guards. One of those guards was a man named Hakim (Numan Acar).

This man had been with the Sultan for a long time. To turn his back on the position would be hard.

Jasmine knew she had to speak up. She began to talk to Hakim. She told him who he was. She reminded him of where he came from. Of who his parents were.

By speaking to Hakim's heart, Jasmine prevented Hakim from following Jafar and to help protect the real Sultan.

The heart of your people is a valuable thing. You can win their heart by speaking to it or you can repel their heart.

Learn to speak to their hearts. To do this, you need to know who they are, where they came from, what they desire in their lives.

You can speak into their hearts. First, you need to know their heart.

Question: Have you seen the new live-action Aladdin? If you have, what leadership lessons did you take away? If you haven't seen the new movie, what Reel Leadership lessons from Aladdin that I shared with you resonated with you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
If you enjoyed this Reel Leadership article, you may enjoy our collection of Reel Leadership articles eBook. You can get this eBook for free by signing up for updates by clicking here.

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Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Aladdin

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I can show you the world Shining, shimmering splendid Tell me, princess, now when did You last let your heart decide? These lyrics defined a generation much like "Do you want to build a snowman? Or ride our bike around the halls? I think some company is overdue I've started talking to The pictures on the [...]

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12 Fictional Characters that Leaders can Learn from

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12 fictional characters that leaders can learn from - Real Business

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Movies, TV programs and books have played a part in our lives for decades. So, from Darth Vader and Walter White to Iron Man and James T. Kirk, here are 12 fictional characters from which every leader can learn valuable lessons from.

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The Leadership Game - Creating Cultures of Leadership Drew Dudley

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The leadership game -- creating cultures of leadership | Drew Dudley | TEDxAnchorage

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Mark Twain: Father of American Literature - Fast Facts | History

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Mark Twain: Father of American Literature - Fast Facts | History

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Follow the Leader Suli Breaks

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Follow the leader | Suli Breaks | TEDxHousesofParliament

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Can A Children's Book Change the World? | Linda Sue Park |

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Can A Children's Book Change the World? | Linda Sue Park | TEDxBeaconStreet

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J. K. Rowling

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Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author, film producer, television producer, screenwriter, 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 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. 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, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released in 2007. Since then, Rowling has written five books for adult readers: The Casual Vacancy (2012) and-under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith-the crime fiction Cormoran Strike series, which consists of The Cuckoo's Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015), and Lethal White (2018).

Rowling has lived a " rags to riches" life in which she progressed from living on benefits to being the world's first billionaire author. She lost her billionaire status after giving away much of her earnings to charity but remains one of the wealthiest people in the world. She is the UK's best-selling living author, with sales in excess of £238 million. The 2016 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £600 million, ranking her as the joint 197th richest person in the UK. Time named her a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fans. In October 2010, Rowling was named the "Most Influential Woman in Britain" by leading magazine editors. She has supported multiple charities, including Comic Relief, One Parent Families, and Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain, as well as launching her own charity, Lumos.

Although she writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling, her name, before her remarriage, was Joanne Rowling. Anticipating that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers asked that she use two initials rather than her full name. As she had no middle name, she chose K (for Kathleen) as the second initial of her pen name, from her paternal grandmother. She calls herself Jo. Following her remarriage, she has sometimes used the name Joanne Murray when conducting personal business. During the Leveson Inquiry she gave evidence under the name of Joanne Kathleen Rowling and her entry in lists her name also as Joanne Kathleen Rowling.

Life and career

Birth and family

Joanne Rowling was born on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, the daughter of science technician Anne (née Volant) and Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer Peter James Rowling. Her parents first met on a train departing from King's Cross Station bound for Arbroath in 1964. They married on 14 March 1965. One of Rowling's maternal great-grandfathers, Dugald Campbell, was a Scottish man from Lamlash. Her mother's French paternal grandfather, Louis Volant, was awarded the War Cross for exceptional bravery in defending the village of Courcelles-le-Comte during World War I. Rowling originally believed Volant had won the Legion of Honour during the war, as she said when she received it herself in 2009. She later discovered the truth when featured in an episode of the UK genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? in which she found out it was a different Louis Volant who won the Legion of Honour. When she heard her grandfather's story of bravery and discovered that the War Cross was for "ordinary" soldiers like her grandfather, who had been a waiter, she stated the War Cross was "better" to her than the Legion of Honour.

Rowling's sister Dianne was born at their home when Rowling was 23 months old. The family moved to the nearby village Winterbourne when Rowling was four. As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories which she frequently read to her sister. Aged nine, Rowling moved to Church Cottage in the Gloucestershire village of Tutshill, close to Chepstow, Wales. When she was a young teenager, her great-aunt gave her a copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels. Mitford became Rowling's heroine, and Rowling read all of her books.

Rowling has said that her teenage years were unhappy. Her home life was complicated by her mother's diagnosis with multiple sclerosis and a strained relationship with her father, with whom she is not on speaking terms. Rowling later said that she based the character of Hermione Granger on herself when she was eleven. Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth, owned a turquoise Ford Anglia which she says inspired a flying version that appeared in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Like many teenagers, she became interested in rock music, listening to the Clash, the Smiths, and Siouxsie Sioux, adopting the look of the latter with back-combed hair and black eyeliner, a look that she would still sport when beginning university.

As a child, Rowling attended St Michael's Primary School, a school founded by abolitionist William Wilberforce and education reformer Hannah More. Her headmaster at St Michael's, Alfred Dunn, has been suggested as the inspiration for the Harry Potter headmaster Albus Dumbledore. She attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College, where her mother worked in the science department. Steve Eddy, her first secondary school English teacher, remembers her as "not exceptional" but "one of a group of girls who were bright, and quite good at English". Rowling took A-levels in English, French and German, achieving two As and a B and was head girl.

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.

Inspiration and mother's death

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. 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.

Marriage, divorce, and single parenthood

An advertisement in The Guardian led Rowling to move to Porto, Portugal, to teach English as a foreign language. She taught at night and began writing in the day while listening to Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. After 18 months in Porto, she met Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes in a bar and found they shared an interest in Jane Austen. They married on 16 October 1992 and their child, Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes (named after Jessica Mitford), was born on 27 July 1993 in Portugal. Rowling had previously suffered a miscarriage. The couple separated on 17 November 1993. Biographers have suggested that Rowling suffered domestic abuse during her marriage, although the extent is unknown. 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. During this period, Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression and contemplated suicide. Her illness inspired the characters known as Dementors, soul-sucking creatures introduced in the third book. Rowling signed up for welfare benefits, describing her economic status as being "poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless."

Rowling was left in despair after her estranged husband arrived in Scotland, seeking both her and her daughter. She obtained an Order of Restraint, and Arantes returned to Portugal, with Rowling filing for divorce in August 1994. She began a teacher training course in August 1995 at the Moray House School of Education, at Edinburgh University, after completing her first novel while living on state benefits. She wrote in many cafés, especially Nicolson's Café (owned by her brother-in-law), and the Elephant House, wherever she could get Jessica to fall asleep. In a 2001 BBC interview, Rowling denied the rumour that she wrote in local cafés to escape from her unheated flat, pointing out that it had heating. One of the reasons she wrote in cafés was that taking her baby out for a walk was the best way to make her fall asleep.

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. 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. 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. 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 .

The fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released simultaneously in the UK and the US on 8 July 2000 and broke sales records in both countries. 372,775 copies of the book were sold in its first day in the UK, almost equalling the number Prisoner of Azkaban sold during its first year. In the US, the book sold three million copies in its first 48 hours, smashing all records. Rowling said that she had had a crisis while writing the novel and had to rewrite one chapter many times to fix a problem with the plot. Rowling was named Author of the Year in the 2000 British Book Awards.

A wait of three years occurred between the release of Goblet of Fire and the fifth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This gap led to press speculation that Rowling had developed writer's block, speculations she denied. Rowling later said that writing the book was a chore, that it could have been shorter, and that she ran out of time and energy as she tried to finish it.

The sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was released on 16 July 2005. It too broke all sales records, selling nine million copies in its first 24 hours of release. In 2006, Half-Blood Prince received the Book of the Year prize at the British Book Awards.

The title of the seventh and final Harry Potter book was announced on 21 December 2006 as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In February 2007 it was reported that Rowling wrote on a bust in her hotel room at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh that she had finished the seventh book in that room on 11 January 2007. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on 21 July 2007 (0:01 BST) and broke its predecessor's record as the fastest-selling book of all time. It sold 11 million copies in the first day of release in the United Kingdom and United States. The book's last chapter was one of the earliest things she wrote in the entire series.

Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated US$15 billion, and the last four Harry Potter books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history. The series, totalling 4,195 pages, has been translated, in whole or in part, into 65 languages.

The Harry Potter books have also gained recognition for sparking an interest in reading among the young at a time when children were thought to be abandoning books for computers and television, although it is reported that despite the huge uptake of the books, adolescent reading has continued to decline.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Rowling had gained some creative control over the films, reviewing all the scripts as well as acting as a producer on the final two-part instalment, Deathly Hallows.

Rowling, producers David Heyman and David Barron, along with directors David Yates, Mike Newell and Alfonso Cuarón collected the Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema at the 2011 British Academy Film Awards in honour of the Harry Potter film franchise.

In September 2013, Warner Bros. announced an "expanded creative partnership" with Rowling, based on a planned series of films about her character Newt Scamander, author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The first film was released in November 2016 and is set roughly 70 years before the events of the main series. In 2016, it was announced that the series would consist of five films. The second, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in November 2018. Rowling scripted and co-produced both films.

Financial success

In 2004, named Rowling as the first person to become a US-dollar billionaire by writing books, the second-richest female entertainer and the 1,062nd richest person in the world. Rowling disputed the calculations and said she had plenty of money, but was not a billionaire. The 2016 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £600 million, ranking her as the joint 197th richest person in the UK. In 2012, Forbes removed Rowling from their rich list, claiming that her US$160 million in charitable donations and the high tax rate in the UK meant she was no longer a billionaire. In February 2013 she was assessed as the 13th most powerful woman in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.

Rowling acquired the courtesy title of Laird of Killiechassie in 2001 when she purchased the historic Killiechassie House, and its surrounding estate situated on the banks of the River Tay, near Aberfeldy, in Perth and Kinross. Rowling also owns a £4.5 million Georgian house in Kensington, west London, on a street with 24-hour security.

In 2017, Rowling was worth an estimated £650 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List. She was named the most highly paid author in the world with earnings of £72 million ($95 million) a year by Forbes in 2017.

Remarriage and family

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. 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 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. As of June 2014, the family resides in Scotland.

In July 2011, Rowling parted company with her agent, Christopher Little, moving to a new agency founded by one of his staff, Neil Blair. On 23 February 2012, his agency, the Blair Partnership, announced on its website that Rowling was set to publish a new book targeted at adults. In a press release, Rowling said that her new book would be quite different from Harry Potter. In April 2012, Little, Brown and Company announced that the book was titled The Casual Vacancy and would be released on 27 September 2012. Rowling gave several interviews and made appearances to promote The Casual Vacancy, including at the London Southbank Centre, the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Charlie Rose and the Lennoxlove Book Festival. In its first three weeks of release, The Casual Vacancy sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

On 3 December 2012, it was announced that the BBC would be adapting The Casual Vacancy into a television drama miniseries. Rowling's agent, Neil Blair acted as producer, through his independent production company and with Rick Senat serving as executive producer. Rowling collaborated on the adaptation, serving as an executive producer for the series. The series aired in three parts from 15 February to 1 March 2015.

Cormoran Strike

In 2007, during the Edinburgh Book Festival, author Ian Rankin claimed that his wife spotted Rowling "scribbling away" at a detective novel in a café. Rankin later retracted the story, claiming it was a joke, but the rumour persisted, with a report in 2012 in The Guardian speculating that Rowling's next book would be a crime novel. In an interview with Stephen Fry in 2005, Rowling claimed that she would much prefer to write any subsequent books under a pseudonym, but she conceded to Jeremy Paxman in 2003 that if she did, the press would probably "find out in seconds".

In April 2013, Little Brown published The Cuckoo's Calling, the purported début novel of author Robert Galbraith, whom the publisher described as "a former plainclothes Royal Military Police investigator who had left in 2003 to work in the civilian security industry". The novel, a detective story in which private investigator Cormoran Strike unravels the supposed suicide of a supermodel, sold 1,500 copies in hardback (although the matter was not resolved as of 21 July 2013; later reports stated that this number is the number of copies that were printed for the first run, while the sales total was closer to 500) and received acclaim from other crime writers and critics-a Publishers Weekly review called the book a "stellar debut", while the Library Journal's mystery section pronounced the novel "the debut of the month".

India Knight, a novelist and columnist for The Sunday Times, tweeted on 9 July 2013 that she had been reading The Cuckoo's Calling and thought it was good for a début novel. In response, a tweeter called Jude Callegari said that the author was Rowling. Knight queried this but got no further reply. Knight notified Richard Brooks, arts editor of the Sunday Times, who began his own investigation. After discovering that Rowling and Galbraith had the same agent and editor, he sent the books for linguistic analysis which found similarities, and subsequently contacted Rowling's agent who confirmed it was Rowling's pseudonym. Within days of Rowling being revealed as the author, sales of the book rose by 4,000%, and Little Brown printed another 140,000 copies to meet the increase in demand. As of 18 July 2013, a signed copy of the first edition sold for US$4,453 (£2,950), while an unsold signed first-edition copy was being offered for $6,188 (£3,950).

Rowling said that she had enjoyed working under a pseudonym. On her Robert Galbraith website, Rowling explained that she took the name from one of her personal heroes, Robert Kennedy, and a childhood fantasy name she had invented for herself, Ella Galbraith.

Soon after the revelation, Brooks pondered whether Jude Callegari could have been Rowling as part of wider speculation that the entire affair had been a publicity stunt. Some also noted that many of the writers who had initially praised the book, such as Alex Gray or Val McDermid, were within Rowling's circle of acquaintances; both vociferously denied any foreknowledge of Rowling's authorship. Judith "Jude" Callegari was the best friend of the wife of Chris Gossage, a partner within Russells Solicitors, Rowling's legal representatives. Rowling released a statement saying she was disappointed and angry; Russells apologised for the leak, confirming it was not part of a marketing stunt and that "the disclosure was made in confidence to someone he [Gossage] trusted implicitly". Russells made a donation to the Soldiers' Charity on Rowling's behalf and reimbursed her for her legal fees. On 26 November 2013 the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) issued Gossage a written rebuke and £1,000 fine for breaching privacy rules.

On 17 February 2014, Rowling announced that the second Cormoran Strike novel, named The Silkworm, would be released in June 2014. It sees Strike investigating the disappearance of a writer hated by many of his old friends for insulting them in his new novel.

In 2015, Rowling stated on Galbraith's website that the third Cormoran Strike novel would include "an insane amount of planning, the most I have done for any book I have written so far. I have colour-coded spreadsheets so I can keep a track of where I am going." On 24 April 2015, Rowling announced that work on the third book was completed. Titled Career of Evil, it was released on 20 October 2015 in the United States, and on 22 October 2015 in the United Kingdom.

In 2017, the BBC released a Cormoran Strike television series, starring Tom Burke as Cormoran Strike, it was picked up by HBO for distribution in the United States and Canada.

In March 2017, Rowling revealed the fourth novel's title via Twitter in a game of "Hangman" with her followers. After many failed attempts, followers finally guessed correctly. Rowling confirmed that the next novel's title is Lethal White. While intended for a 2017 release, Rowling tweeted the book was taking longer than expected and would be the longest book in the series thus far. The book was released 18 September 2018.

Subsequent Harry Potter publications

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. 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.

In October 2015, Rowling announced via Pottermore that a two-part play she had co-authored with playwrights Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, was the "eighth Harry Potter story" and that it would focus on the life of Harry Potter's youngest son Albus after the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. On 28 October 2015, the first round of tickets went on sale and sold out in several hours.

Philanthropy

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.

Anti-poverty and children's welfare

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. Since going on sale in March 2001, the books have raised £15.7 million for the fund. The £10.8 million they have raised outside the UK have been channelled into a newly created International Fund for Children and Young People in Crisis. In 2002, Rowling contributed a foreword to Magic, an anthology of fiction published by Bloomsbury Publishing, helping to raise money for the National Council for One Parent Families.

In 2005, Rowling and MEP Emma Nicholson founded the Children's High Level Group (now Lumos). In January 2006, Rowling went to Bucharest to highlight the use of caged beds in mental institutions for children. 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. In November 2013, Rowling handed over all earnings from the sale of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, totalling nearly £19 million.

In July 2012, Rowling was featured at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London, where she read a few lines from J. M. Barrie's as part of a tribute to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. An inflatable representation of Lord Voldemort and other children's literary characters accompanied her reading.

Multiple sclerosis

Rowling has contributed money and support for research and treatment of multiple sclerosis, from which her mother suffered before her death in 1990. In 2006, Rowling contributed a substantial sum toward the creation of a new Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University, later named the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic. In 2010, she donated another £10 million to the centre, and in 2019 a further £15 million. For unknown reasons, Scotland, Rowling's country of adoption, has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis in the world. In 2003, Rowling took part in a campaign to establish a national standard of care for MS sufferers. In April 2009, she announced that she was withdrawing her support for Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland, citing her inability to resolve an ongoing feud between the organisation's northern and southern branches that had sapped morale and led to several resignations.

Other philanthropic work

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.

On 1 and 2 August 2006, she read alongside Stephen King and John Irving at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Profits from the event were donated to the Haven Foundation, a charity that aids artists and performers left uninsurable and unable to work, and the medical NGO Médecins Sans Frontières. In May 2007, Rowling pledged a donation reported as over £250,000 to a reward fund started by the tabloid News of the World for the safe return of a young British girl, Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in Portugal. Rowling, along with Nelson Mandela, Al Gore, and Alan Greenspan, wrote an introduction to a collection of Gordon Brown's speeches, the proceeds of which were donated to the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory. After her exposure as the true author of The Cuckoo's Calling led to a massive increase in sales, Rowling announced she would donate all her royalties to the Army Benevolent Fund, claiming she had always intended to but never expected the book to be a best-seller.

Rowling is a member of both English PEN and Scottish PEN. She was one of 50 authors to contribute to First Editions, Second Thoughts, a charity auction for English PEN. Each author hand annotated a first-edition copy of one of their books, in Rowling's case, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The book was the highest-selling lot of the event and fetched £150,000 ($228,600).

Rowling is a supporter of the Shannon Trust, which runs the Toe by Toe Reading Plan and the Shannon Reading Plan in prisons across Britain, helping and giving tutoring to prisoners who cannot read.

Influences

Rowling has named communist and civil rights activist Jessica Mitford as her greatest influence. She said "Jessica Mitford has been my heroine since I was 14 years old, when I overheard my formidable great-aunt discussing how Mitford had run away at the age of 19 to fight with the Reds in the Spanish Civil War", and claims what inspired her about Mitford was that she was "incurably and instinctively rebellious, brave, adventurous, funny and irreverent, she liked nothing better than a good fight, preferably against a pompous and hypocritical target". Rowling has described Jane Austen as her favourite author, calling her favourite book in O, The Oprah Magazine. 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 by Paul Gallico.

Rowling is known for her centre-left political views. In September 2008, on the eve of the Labour Party Conference, Rowling announced that she had donated £1 million to the Labour Party, and publicly endorsed Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown over Conservative challenger David Cameron, praising Labour's policies on child poverty. Rowling is a close friend of Sarah Brown, wife of Gordon Brown, whom she met when they collaborated on a charitable project for One Parent Families.

Rowling discussed the 2008 United States presidential election with the Spanish-language newspaper in February 2008, stating that the election would have a profound effect on the rest of the world. She also said that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would be "extraordinary" in the White House. In the same interview, Rowling identified Robert F. Kennedy as her hero.

In April 2010, Rowling published an article in , in which she criticised Cameron's plan to encourage married couples to stay together by offering them a £150 annual tax credit: "Nobody who has ever experienced the reality of poverty could say 'it's not the money, it's the message'. When your flat has been broken into, and you cannot afford a locksmith, it is the money. When you are two pence short of a tin of baked beans, and your child is hungry, it is the money. When you find yourself contemplating shoplifting to get nappies, it is the money."

As a resident of Scotland, Rowling was eligible to vote in the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, and campaigned for the "No" vote. She donated £1 million to the Better Together anti-independence campaign (run by her former neighbour Alistair Darling), the largest donation it had received at the time. In a blog post, Rowling explained that an open letter from Scottish medical professionals raised problems with First Minister Alex Salmond's plans for a common research funding. Rowling compared some Scottish Nationalists with the Death Eaters, characters from Harry Potter who are scornful of those without pure blood.

On 22 October 2015 a letter was published in The Guardian signed by Rowling (along with over 150 other figures from arts and politics) opposing the cultural boycott of Israel, and announcing the creation of a network for dialogue, called Culture for Coexistence. Rowling later explained her position in more detail, saying that although she opposed most of Benjamin Netanyahu's actions she did not think the cultural boycott would bring about the removal of Israel's leader or help improve the situation in Israel and Palestine.

In June 2016, Rowling campaigned for the United Kingdom to stay in the European Union, in the run up to the Referendum to leave the European Union, stating on her website that, "I'm the mongrel product of this European continent and I'm an internationalist. I was raised by a Francophile mother whose family was proud of their part-French heritage ... My values are not contained or proscribed by borders. The absence of a visa when I cross the channel has symbolic value to me. I might not be in my house, but I'm still in my hometown." Rowling expressed concern that "racists and bigots" were directing parts of the Leave campaign. In a blog post, she added: "How can a retreat into selfish and insecure individualism be the right response when Europe faces genuine threats, when the bonds that tie us are so powerful, when we have come so far together? How can we hope to conquer the enormous challenges of terrorism and climate change without cooperation and collaboration?"

Over the years, some religious people, particularly Christians, have decried Rowling's books for supposedly promoting witchcraft. Rowling identifies as a Christian. She once said, "I believe in God, not magic." Early on she felt that if readers knew of her Christian beliefs they would be able to predict plot lines of characters in her books.

In 2007, Rowling said she was the only one in her family who went regularly to church; she was an adherent of the Church of England. As a student she became annoyed at the "smugness of religious people" and attended less often. 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 magazine, 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.

In 2015, following the referendum on same-sex marriage in Ireland, Rowling joked that if Ireland legalised same-sex marriage, Dumbledore and Gandalf could get married there. The Westboro Baptist Church, in response, stated that if the two got married, they would picket. Rowling responded by saying "Alas, the sheer awesomeness of such a union in such a place would blow your tiny bigoted minds out of your thick sloping skulls."

Rowling has had a difficult relationship with the press. She admits to being "thin-skinned" and dislikes the fickle nature of reporting. Rowling disputes that she is a recluse who hates to be interviewed.

By 2011, Rowling had taken more than 50 actions against the press. In 2001, the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint by Rowling over a series of unauthorised photographs of her with her daughter on the beach in Mauritius published in magazine. In 2007, Rowling's young son, David, assisted by Rowling and her husband, lost a court fight to ban publication of a photograph of David. The photo which was taken by a photographer using a long-range lens, was then published in a Sunday Express article featuring Rowling's family life and motherhood. The judgement was overturned in David's favour in May 2008.

Rowling particularly dislikes the British tabloid the , which has conducted interviews with her estranged ex-husband. As one journalist noted, "Harry's Uncle Vernon is a grotesque philistine of violent tendencies and remarkably little brain. It is not difficult to guess which newspaper Rowling gives him to read [in Goblet of Fire]." As of January 2014, she was seeking damages from the Mail for libel over an article about her time as a single mother. Some have speculated that Rowling's fraught relationship with the press was the inspiration behind the character Rita Skeeter, a gossipy celebrity journalist who first appears in Goblet of Fire, but Rowling noted in 2000 that the character predates her rise to fame.

In September 2011, Rowling was named a "core participant" in the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press, as one of dozens of celebrities who may have been the victim of phone hacking. On 24 November 2011, Rowling gave evidence before the inquiry; although she was not suspected to have been the victim of phone hacking, her testimony included accounts of photographers camping on her doorstep, her fiancé being duped into giving his home address to a journalist masquerading as a tax official, her chasing a journalist a week after giving birth, a journalist leaving a note inside her then-five-year-old daughter's schoolbag, and an attempt by to "blackmail" her into a photo opportunity in exchange for the return of a stolen manuscript. Rowling claimed she had to leave her former home in Merchiston because of press intrusion. In November 2012, Rowling wrote an article for The Guardian in reaction to David Cameron's decision not to implement the full recommendations of the Leveson inquiry, saying she felt "duped and angry".

In 2014, Rowling reaffirmed her support for " Hacked Off" and its campaign towards press self-regulation by co-signing with other British celebrities a declaration to "[safeguard] the press from political interference while also giving vital protection to the vulnerable."

Legal disputes

Rowling, her publishers, and Time Warner, the owner of the rights to the Harry Potter films, have taken numerous legal actions to protect their copyright. The worldwide popularity of the Harry Potter series has led to the appearance of a number of locally produced, unauthorised sequels and other derivative works, sparking efforts to ban or contain them.

Another area of legal dispute involves a series of injunctions obtained by Rowling and her publishers to prohibit anyone from reading her books before their official release date. The injunction drew fire from civil liberties and free speech campaigners and sparked debates over the "right to read".

Awards and honours

Rowling has received honorary degrees from St Andrews University, the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, the University of Exeter (which she attended), the University of Aberdeen, and Harvard University, where she spoke at the 2008 commencement ceremony. In 2009 Rowling was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. In 2002, Rowling became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (HonFRSE) as well a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL). She was furthermore recognized as Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCPE) in 2011 for services to Literature and Philanthropy.

Other awards include:

1997: Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, Gold Award for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

1998: Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, Gold Award for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

1998: British Children's Book of the Year, winner Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

1999: Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, Gold Award for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

1999: National Book Awards Children's Book of the Year, winner Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

1999: Whitbread Children's Book of the Year, winner Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2000: British Book Awards, Author of the Year

2000: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to Children's Literature

2000: Locus Award, winner Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2001: Hugo Award for Best Novel, winner Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2003: Premio Príncipe de Asturias, Concord

2003: Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers, winner Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2006: British Book of the Year, winner for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2007: Blue Peter Badge, Gold

2007: Named Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of the year

2008: British Book Awards, Outstanding Achievement

2008: The Edinburgh Award

2010: Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award, inaugural award winner.

2011: British Academy Film Awards, Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema for the Harry Potter film series, shared with David Heyman, cast and crew.

2012: Freedom of the City of London

2012: Rowling was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork - the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover - to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life.

2017: Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) at the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to literature and philanthropy.

2019: For their first match of March 2019, the women of the United States women's national soccer team each wore a jersey with the name of a woman they were honoring on the back; Rose Lavelle chose the name of Rowling.

Publications

Young adults

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (26 June 1997)

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2 July 1998)

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8 July 1999)

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (8 July 2000)

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (21 June 2003)

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (16 July 2005)

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (21 July 2007)

Related works

Short stories

Cormoran Strike series (as Robert Galbraith)

Non-fiction

McNeil, Gil and Brown, Sarah, editors (2002). Foreword to the anthology Magic. Bloomsbury.

Brown, Gordon (2006). Introduction to "Ending Child Poverty" in Moving Britain Forward. Selected Speeches 1997-2006. Bloomsbury.

Sussman, Peter Y., editor (26 July 2006). "The First It Girl: J. K. Rowling reviews Decca: the Letters by Jessica Mitford". The Daily Telegraph.

Anelli, Melissa (2008). Foreword to Harry, A History. Pocket Books.

Rowling, J. K. (5 June 2008). "The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination". Harvard Magazine.
J. K. Rowling, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and Importance of Imagination, illustrated by Joel Holland, Sphere, 14 April 2015, 80 pages (ISBN 978-1-4087-0678-7).

Rowling, J. K. (30 April 2009). "Gordon Brown - The 2009 Time 100". Time magazine.

Rowling, J. K. (14 April 2010). "The Single Mother's Manifesto". The Times.

Rowling, J. K. (30 November 2012). "I feel duped and angry at David Cameron's reaction to Leveson". The Guardian.

Rowling, J. K. (17 December 2014). Isn't it time we left orphanages to fairytales? The Guardian.

Rowling, J. K. (guest editor) (28 April 2014). "Woman's Hour Takeover". Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4.

Rowling J.K. (contributor) (forthcoming 31 October 2019) A Love Letter to Europe.

Filmography

References

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2. "Sir Arnold Clark 'first billionaire car dealer'". BBC News. 24 April 2016. Archived from the original on 4 July 2016.

3. ^ "Jo Rowling Interview on Oprah". The Oprah Winfrey Show. 1 October 2010. Event occurs at 1:50. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011.

4. Shelagh, Rogers (23 October 2000). "Interview: J.K. Rowling". ^ This Morning. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Reprint Archived 15 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine at Accio Quote! (accio-quote.org). 28 July 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2013.

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19. ^ Kirk, Connie Ann (2003). J.K. Rowling: A Biography. United States: Greenwood Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-313-32205-1. Soon, by many eyewitness accounts and even some versions of Jorge's own story, domestic violence became a painful reality in Jo's life.

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27. ^ "Scottish homes market view 2008: Perthshire". The Times UK. 28 September 2008. Their best-known owner, JK Rowling, "The Laird of Killiechassie", purchased her strip of premium Perthshire from Jackson for about £600,000 in 2001 - a bargain by today's standards.

28. Nichols, Michelle. ^ Hogwarts hideaway for Potter author. The Scotsman. 22 November 2001. Retrieved 25 October 2007.

29. ^ Watts, Robert (7 May 2017). "Brexit brings bonanza for billionaires". The Sunday Times. p. 1. The Harry Potter author JK Rowling is now valued at £650m and the singer Adele enters the main list for the first time with a fortune of £125m after a phenomenal year of touring since the release of her album 25.

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47. ^ "'Harry Potter' author JK Rowling receives Honorary Degree". University of Aberdeen. 2006. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2008.

48. ^ "College Fellows and Members recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours". Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. RCPE.

49. ^ "A Thrilling New Adventure in J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World is Underway". Warner Bros. Pictures. Business Wire. 3 July 2017.

External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author, film producer, television producer, screenwriter, 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.