J.K. Rowling

The story of Joanne Kathleen Rowling's road to fame is one that we hear about it legends but rarely hope to hear come true. Rowling was a single mother who scribbled her book notes on scraps of papers and napkins at a local café. Even after selling her first book (though before its publication), she had to rely on an award from the Scottish Arts Council so that she could have the money to keep writing.

Now, after the phenomena that is Harry Potter, Rowling is unlikely to ever have to worry about finances again. So incredible is her story that there have now been more books written about her and her world than she has written herself.

Born in 1965, Rowling grew up in England and studied French with the idea of being a bilingual secretary, something she claimed she was to gain little skill at. Instead, she found herself teaching English and French as a way of supporting herself and her daughter.

Bibliography

-- B. Redman