J K Rowling and her work J K (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling was born in July 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England

and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. Jo left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, her course including one year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London and worked as a researcher at Amnesty International among other jobs. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a delayed Manchester to London Kings Cross train journey, and during the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first novel. Jo then moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. She married in October 1992 and gave birth to a daughter Jessica in 1993. When the marriage ended, she and Jessica returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where Harry Potter & the Philosophers Stone was eventually completed. Jo married Dr. Neil Murray in 2001, and a brother for Jessica, David, was born in 2003. A sister, Mackenzie, followed in 2005. The books Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in June 1997 and as Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone in the US by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic in September 1998. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in July 1998 (June 2, 1999 in the USA) and was No. 1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts for a month after publication. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was published on 8th July 1999 (September 8, 1999 in America) to worldwide acclaim and massive press attention. The book spent four weeks at No.1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts, while Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone simultaneously topped the paperback charts. In the US the first three Harry Potter books occupied the top three spots on numerous adult bestseller lists. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in the series, was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia 8th July 2000 with a record first print run of 1 million copies for the UK and 3.8 million for the US. It quickly broke all records for the greatest number of books sold on the first weekend of publication. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth book in the series, was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia on 21st June 2003. Published in paperback on 10th July 2004, it is the longest in the series 766 pages - and broke the records set by Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire as the fastest selling book in history. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in the series, was published in the UK, US and other English-speaking countries on 16th July 2005 and also achieved record sales. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the series, was published in the UK, US and other English speaking countries on 21st July 2007. The book is the fastest selling book in the UK and USA, and sales are well over 400 million copies worldwide.

J K Rowling has also written two small volumes, which appear as the titles of Harrys school books within the novels: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and

Quidditch Through The Ages were published by Bloomsbury Childrens Books and Scholastic in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, another charitable book, was published by and for the Childrens High Level Group in 2008.

The Harry Potter books are distributed in over 200 territories and are translated into 69 languages. Honours and Awards J K Rowling has received the following honours and awards: Order of the British Empire (OBE), 2001 Chevalier de la Legion dHonneur: France, 2009 Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, Spain, 2003 The Edinburgh Award, 2008 Honorary Degrees from the University of Exeter, University of St Andrews, Napier University, University of Edinburgh, Dartmouth College, USA, Harvard University, USA, University of Aberdeen. Commencement speaker, Harvard University, USA, 2008 James Joyce Award, University College Dublin, 2008 Author of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award, British Book Awards,1999 and 2008 Booksellers Association Author of the Year, 1998 and 1999 W H Smith Fiction Award, 2004 Outstanding Achievement Award, South Bank Show Awards, 2008 Blue Peter Gold Badge, awarded 2007 Charities J K Rowling supports a wide number of charities and causes, some of which you can find more information on in this section. She has set up the Volant Charitable Trust, which supports a wide number of causes related to social deprivation and associated problems, particularly as they affect women and children. The Trust has funded a variety of projects in the UK and abroad. It also supports research into the causes and treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. www.volanttrust.com As a postgraduate, Jo worked at the London office of Amnesty International, doing research into human rights abuses in Francophone Africa. www.amnesty.org.uk For seven years she was an Ambassador of One Parent Families, now called Gingerbread, a charity working with lone parents and their children. In 2007 she took an honorary position as President for the charity. www.gingerbread.org.uk Since 1999 J K Rowling has been a supporter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland, for nine of those years as its Patron. Having lost her mother to MS at the age of 45, this is one of the causes closest to Jos heart and her support has included planning and hosting fundraising events, directly lobbying politicians, writing articles and giving interviews to raise awareness of this very Scottish disease, and

contributing significant funds for research in Scotland, including research establishments in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. She has recently stepped down as Patron of the charity but continues to fund MS research directly. www.mssocietyscotland.org.uk In 2005 J K Rowling co-founded the Childrens High Level Group (CHLG) with Baroness Emma Nicholson MEP, inspired by a press report she read about children in caged beds in institutions in the Czech Republic. This charity aims to make life better for young people in care, in Eastern Europe and ultimately all over the world. In 2007 J K Rowling auctioned for CHLG a copy of one of the seven special editions of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which raised 1.95 million. In December 2008 the book was widely published in aid of the charity and became the fastest-selling book of that year. In February 2010 the UKbased arm of the charity became Lumos. www.lumos.org.uk Jo has supported a wide range of other causes and charities, including Comic Relief, for which she has written two short books; The Maggies Centres for Cancer Care, of which she was a Patron for several years; the UK Labour Party, to which she donated 1 million in 2008, and Mdecins Sans Frontires, in aid of which she performed in an event with Stephen King and John Irving in New York in 2006. The Films HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, directed by Chris Columbus and produced by David Heyman, broke all box office records when it opened in the UK in November 2001 and has since become the number two film of all time. HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, the second film, also directed by Chris Columbus and produced by David Heyman, went on general release on 15th November 2002. HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, the third film, was released in the UK and US on June 4th 2004 and was directed by Alfonso Cuaron. HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, the fourth film, was released in the UK in November 2005. It was directed by Mike Newell. HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, the fifth film, was released in the UK and US in July 2007, and was directed by David Yates. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, the sixth film, was released in July 2009 and is also directed by David Yates. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, the seventh and final adventure in the Harry Potter film series, will be told in two full-length parts. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 will open in the UK and US on 19th November 2010, and Part 2 will be released on 15th July 2011.

For further facts and figures about the books and films, please contact the publishers and Warner Bros via the links section.