Biography
J.K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series of seven books, published between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories and translated into 79 languages, and have been turned into eight blockbuster films.
She has written three companion volumes: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in aid of Comic Relief; and The Tales of Beedle the Bard in aid of her international children’s charity Lumos.
J.K. Rowling has written a novel for adult readers, The Casual Vacancy, which was adapted for TV by the BBC. Her crime novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, include The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm and Career of Evil. They too are to be adapted for a major new television series for BBC One, produced by Brontë Film and Television.
J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard commencement speech is published as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, and sold in aid of Lumos and university–wide financial aid at Harvard.
In 2016 J.K. Rowling collaborated with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany on an original story for the stage. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two is now running at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End.
Also in 2016, J.K. Rowling made her screenwriting debut with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. A prequel to Harry Potter, this new adventure of Magizoologist Newt Scamander marked the start of five-film series to be written by the author.
J.K. Rowling supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also the founder and president of the international non-profit children’s organization Lumos, which works to end the institutionalisation of children globally and ensure they grow up in a safe and caring environment.
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