J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling (b. 1965) is a British novelist born in Yate, Gloucestershire. She studied French and Classics at the University of Exeter, and the idea for Harry Potter came to her on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990. She wrote much of the first novel as a single mother living on state benefits in Edinburgh, famously drafting chapters in local cafes while her infant daughter slept beside her. The manuscript was rejected by twelve publishers before Bloomsbury accepted it—reportedly on the advice of the chairman's eight-year-old daughter. This author hub collects 1 work in the Canon Compass ranking, led by Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.