Woman of the Week: J.K. Rowling

written by Kate H.

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.” Do you recognize these lines? Can you remember what book they are from?

If you guessed Harry Potter, you’re right! The series was a hit all thanks to its author, J.K. Rowling.

Rowling was born on July 31 in 1965 in Yate, England. Better known as J.K., her birth name is Joanne and she later added “K” in her pen name as tribute to her grandmother, Kathleen. With over 500 million copies sold, the 52 year old Brit is the ninth best selling fiction author of all time.

After having her first child and divorcing from her husband, Rowling began struggling to support herself and her young daughter, Jessica. Amidst her trials, including being on welfare, she began writing the Harry Potter series, and after many rejections the first book- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone– sold for only $4,000. “Philosopher’s” was changed to “Sorcerer’s” for American publication.

“I was set free because my greatest fear had been realized, and I still had a daughter who I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

Despite the initial refusal by publishers, readers adored her creative writing, and the next two books of the series were released within the next two years. The three combined sold over 35 million copies, in 35 different languages, and earned about $480 million dollars. She set a record in 2005 when 6.9 million copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince were sold within its first 24 hours of publication. With this incredible success the sixth book of the series had the biggest opening in publishing history. She set yet another record with the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when it became the largest ever pre-ordered book at Barnes and Noble and on Amazon.com.

“Harry Potter gave me back self-respect. Harry gave me a job to do that I loved more than anything else.”

Although she is arguably most known for her Harry Potter series, she continues to push her creative boundaries. She wrote The Tales of Beedle the Bard for children and donates all royalties to the Children’s High Level Group, a charity which she confounded for institutionalized kids. She also released her first book for adults in 2012, writing for a very different audience than her first books. J.K. did not limit herself to writing books, though. In 2016 she made her first debut as a screenwriter with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

J.K. Rowling is not only admirable for her creativity but for her perseverance and ambition. She overcame many hardships early in her life and used her talents to help herself financially but also to help inspire children and people of all ages to love reading. She continues to produce new ideas and challenge herself in her profession.

“I would like to be remembered as someone who did the best she could with the talent she had.”

Click here to hear more about her charity!

Click here to hear more about her belief in the success that comes from failure!