Happy Birthday J.K. Rowling!

Happy Birthday J.K. Rowling! She changed the Muggle World with the publication of the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, in 1997.  The series became a phenomenon not only capturing the imaginations of young readers who would tackle the doorstop sized books, but also adults who had not lost the touch of Wizards and Witches.  The series followed young Harry Potter from age 11 to 17, growing up learning magic at Hogwarts with the dark destiny of having to ultimately face Voldemort.  The series concluded with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007.  The film series began with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and ended with Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows - Part 2 (2011).  

In 2001, Rowling wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, to benefit Comic Relief.  In 2010, J.K. Rowling founded Lumos, her charity organization to help children.  Also that year, at the Islands of Adventure park in Orlando, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened, and walking into a fantastic world will never be the same with theme parks.  It opened in Universal Studios Japan in 2014 and Universal Studios Hollywood in 2016.  Rowling launched the Pottermore website in 2011 filling in more of the Wizarding World and also news.  She wrote an adult novel, The Casual Vacancy, in 2012.  In 2012, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London opened with The Making of Harry Potter at the Leavesden studio. 

Rowling wrote under the pen name Robert Galbraith the crime novels featuring Cormoran Strike that began with the Cuckoo’s Calling (2013).  In 2016, Rowling co-wrote the stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany.  It was a sensation on the London stage winning nine awards and also on Broadway, taking the Tony Award for Best Play in 2018.  Also, released in 2016, was the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which was produced and featured a screenplay by J.K. Rowling.  It was the first in a series of five films with the next film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, set to be released on November 16th.  Happy Birthday J.K. Rowling! 

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