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AUTHOR OF THE DAY: J.K. Rowling

Joanna Rowling, best known as J.K. Rowling, was born on July 31, 1965 in Yate, England. She is a modern inspiration in literature with her personal story and fantasy world predicated in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Rowling graduated from Exeter University in 1987, where she studied French. After college, she held different jobs and first conceived the idea of Harry Potter in 1990 on a train ride from Manchester to London. When her mother passed away in 1990, Rowling’s world took a turn. Her mother’s death deeply affected the writer; the value of family, loss and the complexity of adult themes were heavily engraved in Hogwarts and Harry Potter’s life. 

The grief she endured, prompted her for a new beginning; Rowling moved to Portugal that same year to work as an English teacher. In Portugal she met her first husband and had her first child. After their marriage ended in divorce, Rowling moved to Edinburgh in 1995. Her divorce was a catalyst of inspiration that would result in her legacy. 

Struggling to support herself and her daughter, Rowling began writing  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (the word “Philosopher” was changed to “Sorcerer” in the United States), an idea she had years ago. After several rejections from publishers, Bloomsbury, a small publishing house, agreed to release the book in August of 1996 for an advance of around $3000. To attract more male readers, Rowling was asked to use a pseudonym. Since she does not have a middle name, she added her grandmother’s name, Kathleen for her middle initial as an honor.