Full Name: Joanne Kathleen Rowling

Nicknames: Jo to her friends and family, JK to her fans and Jake for annoyance from friends. Her initials were used because the publishers were worried that people would not read about a wizard if a woman had written it.

J. K. Rowling has won the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the Whitbread Award for Best Children's Book, a special commendation for the Anne Spencer Lindbergh Prize, and a special certificate for being a three-year winner of the Smarties Prize, as well as many other honors.

She has been a featured guest on "60 Minutes," "The Today Show," and "Larry King Live." Rowling has also been named an Officer of the British Empire.

Rowling first thought of Harry while riding a train back in 1990. "Harry just strolled into my head fully formed." She worked on the book for several years, finding quiet moments while her daughter napped. Several publishers turned down the finished manuscript before one took interest.

In 1998, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published in the United States, kicking off Harry-mania. Suddenly, kids were reading again, and their parents wanted to read the same books! The second and third books were published in the spring and fall of 1999.

On July 8, 2000, the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire became a major celebration, with bookstore events occurring at midnight nationwide.

The book sold an unprecedented three million copies in the first 48 hours of release, winning the title of "fastest-selling book in history" — a title later claimed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when it was released on June 21, 2003.

Warner Bros. enjoys certain rights in respect to all the Harry Potter books and has exercised its option to create films on all of those that have been published to date. With over a quarter of a billion books sold, the books have been translated into 61 languages and distributed in over 200 countries.

All five books have appeared on bestseller lists in the United States, Britain, and around the globe.

Quotes

Many papers have written many things about JK Rowling. Here are just a few from the British papers. "This is a story full of suprises and jokes; comparisons with Dahl are, this time, justified.
--The Sunday Times

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has all the makings of a classic... Rowling uses classic narrative devices with flair and originality and delivers a complex and demanding plot in the form of a hugely entertaining series thriller. She is a first-rate writer for children."
--The Scotsman

"A richly textured first novel given lift off by and inventive wit."
--The Guardian

"JK Rowling's second book is just as funny, frightening and unexpected as her first."
--The Daily Mail

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is as good as its predecessor... Hogwarts is a creation of genius."
--The Times Literary Supplement

"Children gripped by the funny, quirky and imaginative storylines of J.K Rowling's books and will undoubtedly be hooked again"
--The Daily Mail

"The most eagerly awaited chidren's book for years."
--The Evening Standard

"Spellbinding , enchanting, bewitching stuff."
--The Mirror

"The world of Hogwarts is complete in every riotous, headlong detail. The richness and scale of Rowling's invention is exhilarating... but the real proof of quality lies in J.K Rowling's power to draw the reader into Harry's world and make it seem believable."
--The Guardian