J.K. Rowling (Author and Creator of Harry Potter and The Tales of Beedle the Bard)

ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1990, traveling on a train between London and Manchester, a 25-year-old British woman suddenly had an amazing idea for a novel. The shy young woman was too nervous to approach any of her fellow passengers for a piece of paper or pen, so she sat and gazed out the window of the train while she imagined the world she wanted to create. By the time she arrived home, the woman had a clear idea of the characters and story. Although she had never published any novels or even stories, she set about writing down her ideas, slowly forming them into a complete world.

Over the course of the next several years, J.K. Rowling would experience massive life changes and many challenges and joys, from the death of her mother to the birth of her daughter. Through it all, the single, working mother kept on writing. She had to write her entire novel by hand and then type it out on a typewriter. When she found an agent to represent her novel, Rowling was hopeful that her hard work would finally pay off. However, publishers barely gave the novel a second look. After a while, it seemed to Rowling that her novel had just been a waste of time and resources, since nobody else could see the same magic in the manuscript that she could see herself.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

As each of the six subsequent novels came out, they were all showered with a similar array of honors, awards and mentions. The books include Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

In addition to her books winning so many prizes, Rowling herself has received many honors for her imaginative and compelling writing. In 1998, Rowling became the Booksellers Association Author of the Year for Chamber of Secrets. The next year, she became the British Book Awards Author of the Year for Prisoner of Azkaban. Also that year, she was listed by People magazine as one of the 24 Most Intriguing People of 1999. In 2000, Rowling was award the great honor of becoming an officer of Order of the British Empire, under the ruling of Queen Elizabeth III. Rowling's alma mater, University of Exeter, awarded her a Doctor of Letter degree for her work on the Harry Potter series. Also in 2000, she was named Booksellers Association Author of the Year for Prisoner of Azkaban, and was later named “Best Author” by the British Book Awards…

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