Author JK Rowling turns 50

Born in England on July 31, 1965, JK (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling is best known for Harry Potter, the world’s best selling book series which has sold over 400m copies worldwide

Eight movies earned over $7 billion worldwide

Rowling owns rights to all Harry Potter e-books – sold via her own Pottermore.com website
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WRITING CAREER  

Harry Potter and the…   Copies sold 

Philosopher’s Stone* 1997  107m

Chamber of Secrets 1998    60m

Prisoner of Azkaban 1999   55m

Goblet of Fire 2000       55m

Order of the Phoenix 2003 55m

Half-Blood Prince 2005 65m

Deathly Hallows 2007 50m

Companion books

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2001 0.5m

Quidditch Through the Ages 2001 0.5m

Harry Potter Prequel† 2008 -

The Tales of Beedle the Bard 2008 -

Adult books

The Casual Vacancy 2012  5m

The Cuckoo’s Calling‡ 2013 -

The Silkworm‡ 2014 -

Career of Evil‡ Oct 20, 2015 -

Scriptwriting

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The adventures of Newt Scamander, in magical reimagining of 1920s New York

First of three movies due: Nov 18, 2016
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TOP-EARNING AUTHORS 12 months to Jun 2014

James Patterson $90m

Dan Brown $28m

Nora Roberts $23m

Danielle Steel $22m

Janet Evanovich $20m

Jeff Kinney $17m

Veronica Roth $17m

John Grisham $17m

Stephen King $17m

Suzanne Collins $16m

JK Rowling $14m

2004: Forbes magazine lists Rowling as first author to become U.S.$ billionaire

*Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in U.S.   †Short story – contribution to anthology What’s Your Story: The Postcard Collection   ‡Under pseudonym Robert Galbraith (sales figures unavailable)
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Sources: Harry Potter Wiki, IMDB, Forbes, wire agencies   Original pictures: AP

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