Joanne Rowling (31.07.1965) - English writer.
Joanne Rowling (pen-name J. K. Rowling) is a famous British novelist. Her fantasy books about Harry Potter brought her world recognition and popularity. They became the best-selling books in the history of literature. These books have become the basis for a series of films, which were also highly successful. The writer was born on July 31st, 1965, in Yate, which is north-east of Bristol. Her father was an engineer and her mother was a science technician. When Joanne was four, her family moved to Winterbourne. She attended St Michael’s Primary School there. Many biographers believe that the headmaster of that school became the prototype of the headmaster of the fictional school of magic in “Harry Potter”.
She started writing fictional stories rather early, at the age of nine. Her first listener was her younger sister Dianne. Joanne became genuinely interested in literature after she got Jessica Mitford’s autobiography. This author became her idol and she wanted to be like her. Joanne’s childhood wasn’t easy. Her mother was often ill and she had to take care of herself and her sister. School years were also difficult. During one interview she confessed that this was a terrible time for her. In 1982, she failed the exams to Oxford. Nevertheless, she managed to enter the Exeter University. In 1986, she moved to London and started working as a secretary at the research department. Later, she met her boyfriend and moved to Manchester with him. The intention to write a fiction about a magical school came to her unexpectedly.
Soon, her mother died and it had a great influence on her novel. She described in details what Harry felt after the loss of his parents in her first book. In 1991, she went to Portugal to teach English. She was convinced that this job is for her. Every morning and evening she had free time to write the novel, in the afternoons she was teaching. In Portugal she met her future husband, who was a journalist. In 1993, she had a daughter Jessica. However, her marriage didn’t last. She soon got divorced and moved to Edinburgh with her daughter. In Scotland she received a grant to finish the novel about “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. It wasn’t easy to sell it at first. Finally the book was bought by “Bloomsbury” publishing office.
A few months later the rights to her book were bought by one US publishing house, which made her a generous offer. As an author she got a sufficient amount of money, so that she could quit teaching. The book soon received a number of awards. The sequel of Joanne’s story was released next year. The writer quickly achieved world recognition and became an international literary sensation. All in all, she wrote seven books about Harry Potter. Apart from that, she created a number of novels which are somehow connected with the Hogwarts magical world.
