J.K. Rowling after receiving an honorary degree from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland on July 6, 2006.
Joanne Rowling, who writes under the names J.K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, (born July 31, 1965) is a British author best known for writing the Harry Potter series.
She adopted the name "J.K. Rowling" because her publisher thought boys would be less likely to read a book written by someone with a "woman's name". Rowling does not have a middle name but It was felt that "J. Rowling" would not look right. For the middle initial of her pen name she used her grandmother's name, Kathleen.
Profits from the Harry Potter series have made J.K. Rowling one of the richest women in the world, and she is noted for her generous gifts to charitable causes.
Works
The seven volumes of the Harry Potter series:
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)
Other works related to the Harry Potter universe:
- Quidditch Through the Ages (2001)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2001)
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008)
- "Harry Potter Prequel" (2008) (short story)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) (movie script)
J.K. Rowling has written four non-Potter related novels for adults:
- The Casual Vacancy (2012)
- The Cuckoo's Calling (2013)
- The Silkworm (2014)
- Career of Evil (2015)
All but the first of these are mystery novels, the protagonist of which is a private detective named Cormorant Strike, and were written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.