Author archive

J.K. Rowling

Joanne Rowling was born on 31 July 1965 at Yate General Hospital near Bristol and grew up in Gloucestershire and Chepstow, Wales. She wrote her first story at six and her first novel at eleven. After studying French and Classics at Exeter University – including a year in Paris – she worked in various jobs, notably as a researcher at Amnesty International. The idea for Harry Potter came to her in 1990 on a delayed train from Manchester to London. She later taught English in Portugal, married Jorge Arantes, and had a daughter, Jessica, before moving to Edinburgh with the first three chapters of the series. The first book was published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books in June 1997, and the series went on to achieve record‑breaking success and multiple film adaptations.