The Wizardly World of J.K. Rowling In 1990 Joanne Rowling was riding a train into London England The train was delayed leaving Rowling plenty of time to think As she waited Rowling came up with an idea The idea was about a young wizard He was a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry HARRY’S DEBUT During the next few years Rowling married had a daughter and divorced She became J K Rowling is one of the best-known authors in the world
A Writer’s Life For most authors writing is only part of the process After finishing a book an author sends the book to an agent or publisher Sometimes the author has to send a book to many people before he or she finds someone who likes it Once a book is accepted it goes through more steps before being published When a book is finally published its success is decided by the public Rowling was rejected 12 times before she found a publisher But the public loved her work They made Harry Potter a great success a single mom trying desperately to pay her bills But she was also a writer She continued to make notes write and map out a total of seven Harry Potter books By the late 1990s Rowling had finished the first Harry Potter book It was rejected by numerous publishers But in 1997 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in England The publisher thought young boys would not want to read a book by a woman They asked Rowling to shorten her name to hide her gender
A girl tests a wand at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando Florida Joanne Rowling became J K Rowling The K is for Kathleen It was Rowling’s grandmother’s name The next year Rowling’s book was published in the United States The title was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Harry and his friends were a smashing success in both England and the
