Popular Profiles - 11. J K Rowling - Popular writers 11 - J K Rowling - Page 02

Other books

In 2012 Rowling published The Casual Vacancy a novel that focuses on social issues. The novel sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

In April 2013, Rowling published her first crime novel, “The Cuckoo's calling”, in the pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. The novel was the debut for her detective Cormoran Strike.

In 2014, Strike’s second book “The silkworm” was published.

The third Strike book, “Career if evil” was released in October 2015

Do you know?
J K Rowling is also pen name of 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.

Awards and Records

Awards

1. In Novemver 1997, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone won Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.
2. In February 1998, the novel won the British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year
3. In 1998 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone won the Children's Book Award.
4. In 1998, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets won the Smarties Prize.
5. In December 1999, the third novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, won the Smarties Prize.
   1. Rowling became the first person to win the Smarties award three times running for the first three parts of Harry Potter.  She later withdrew the fourth Harry Potter novel from contention to allow other books a fair chance.
6. In January 2000, Prisoner of Azkaban won the inaugural Whitbread Children's Book of the Year award
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets won the Smarties Prize.
8. Rowling was named Author of the Year in the 2000 British Book Awards.
9. In 2006, Half-Blood Prince received the Book of the Year prize at the British Book Awards.

Records

1. The fourth sequel, 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 equaling the number Prisoner of Azkaban sold during its first year. 
2. In the US, the book sold three million copies in its first 48 hours, smashing all records. 
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince too broke all sales records, selling nine million copies in its first 24 hours of release. 
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 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. 

Success

1. In 2004, Forbes named Rowling as the first person to become a U.S.-dollar billionaire by writing books, the second-richest female entertainer and the 1,062nd richest person in the world.
   1. 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
2. The 2008 Sunday Times Rich List named Rowling the 144th richest person in Britain.
3. In February 2013 she was assessed as the 13th most powerful woman in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.

Family

On 26 December 2001, Rowling married Neil Michael Murray, an anesthetist, in a private ceremony at her home, Killiechassie House, near Aberfeldy. Their son, David Gordon Rowling Murray, was born on 24 March 2003.

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.

Controversies

When it was revealed that Galbraith was indeed Rowling, there were speculations that the sensational revelation was a publicity stunt for the book.

But Rowling denied the allegations and Russells, the solicitors of Rowling accepted that the leakage happened through their firm.

The same person who filed for government benefits in 1993 citing that she is poor now owns a £4.5 million (Approximately 45 crores in Indian Rupees) Georgian house in Kensington, West London on a street with 24-hour security!!!

Her story should surely inspire many of us!

References - wikipedia.org