J.K. Rowling - Women Who Write

J.K. Rowling and her beloved Harry.

Real-life magic.

Like millions around the world, I feel strangely close to J.K. Rowling. I've spent hours and hours of my life reading her carefully crafted words and months upon months discussing her work and more time that that wishing for her magical, wonderful, intelligent world to continue on. What J.K., real name Joanne, managed to create with Harry Potter was phenomenal - for her fans, for herself, for needy children, and women writers the world over. So it is no great surprise that we're choosing to feature J.K. Rowling as part of our Women's History Month.

You need look no further than her name to realize the barriers that Rowling has broken down. Though she had always gone by Joanne, or Jo, her publisher requested that Rowling use two initials rather than reveal her first name - should it alienate the young boys that were the target audience for her Harry Potter books.

Jo complied, choosing the initials J.K. (J for Joanne and K for Kathleen - her grandmother), but she needn't have bothered. As publishers, and bookstores, and readers throughout Britain and beyond soon discovered, Harry Potter connected with an audience much wider than just teenage boys.

With her stories about a young, orphaned wizard and his two loyal friends, Rowling cracked the fantasy genre wide open, making it a place where women writers belonged and girls wanted to dwell. That tidal shift was due, in no small part, to the strong female characters Rowling created and the action-packed plots that never shied away from their humanity.

At the heart of all the Harry Potter books is an author who loved her subject matter and her characters with such devotion that she was willing to subsist on welfare to pursue her passion. For that devotion, she was rewarded. Handsomely. Rowling's books have sold more than 400 million copies and her wealth is estimated at $800 million.

With those earnings, Joanne has gone on to become an impressive philanthropist, supporting charities like Comic Relief, One Parent Families and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain. When she released The Tales of Beedle the Bard (an offshoot of the Harry Potter series) earlier this year, she donated all net proceeds to charity, specifically the Children's High Level Group (CHLG), the charity Rowling co-founded. The organization campaigns to protect and promote children's rights across Europe.

For entertaining kids big and small, and for keeping children in need safe and protected, we say thanks. And "Expelliarmus, old conventions." There's a new brand of magic in town.

J.K. Rowling and her beloved Harry.

Real-life magic.

Like millions around the world, I feel strangely close to J.K. Rowling. I've spent hours and hours of my life reading her carefully crafted words and months upon months discussing her work and more time that that wishing for her magical, wonderful, intelligent world to continue on. What J.K., real name Joanne, managed to create with Harry Potter was phenomenal - for her fans, for herself, for needy children, and women writers the world over. So it is no great surprise that we're choosing to feature J.K. Rowling as part of our Women's History Month.

You need look no further than her name to realize the barriers that Rowling has broken down. Though she had always gone by Joanne, or Jo, her publisher requested that Rowling use two initials rather than reveal her first name - should it alienate the young boys that were the target audience for her Harry Potter books.

Jo complied, choosing the initials J.K. (J for Joanne and K for Kathleen - her grandmother), but she needn't have bothered. As publishers, and bookstores, and readers throughout Britain and beyond soon discovered, Harry Potter connected with an audience much wider than just teenage boys.

With her stories about a young, orphaned wizard and his two loyal friends, Rowling cracked the fantasy genre wide open, making it a place where women writers belonged and girls wanted to dwell. That tidal shift was due, in no small part, to the strong female characters Rowling created and the action-packed plots that never shied away from their humanity.

At the heart of all the Harry Potter books is an author who loved her subject matter and her characters with such devotion that she was willing to subsist on welfare to pursue her passion. For that devotion, she was rewarded. Handsomely. Rowling's books have sold more than 400 million copies and her wealth is estimated at $800 million.

With those earnings, Joanne has gone on to become an impressive philanthropist, supporting charities like Comic Relief, One Parent Families and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain. When she released The Tales of Beedle the Bard (an offshoot of the Harry Potter series) earlier this year, she donated all net proceeds to charity, specifically the Children's High Level Group (CHLG), the charity Rowling co-founded. The organization campaigns to protect and promote children's rights across Europe.

For entertaining kids big and small, and for keeping children in need safe and protected, we say thanks. And "Expelliarmus, old conventions." There's a new brand of magic in town.