The tale is well told now of the struggling single mother who came up with the concept of boy wizard Harry Potter on a crowded train and ended up changing the face of publishing. She's now sold over 450 million copies of the bestselling series of novels in history and is one of the richest and most influential people in the country.

In a bold departure from the Harry Potter series J.K. unveiled The Casual Vacancy in 2012, a mature and political tragicomedy which explores class issues and features drugs, prostitution and abuse - we were definitely not in Hogwarts anymore. Whilst The Casual Vacancy may have divided critics, loyal booklovers queued outside bookshops on the day of release, eager to get their hands on J.K.'s first foray into the world of adult fiction. Unsurprisingly, it went on to become a bestseller shifting one million copies in English alone.

If The Casual Vacancy took everyone by surprise, then the announcement in June 2013 that J.K. had written a crime thriller under the nom-de-plume of Robert Galbraith, entitled The Cuckoo's Calling, sent the publishing world into frenzy, causing sales of the mystery novel to increase by 4000 per cent. The follow-up, The Silkworm, was just as well received.

Rowling has become a notable philanthropist, and is the president of charity Gingerbread (originally One Parent Families) and co-founder of the Children's High Level Group (now Lumos).

Harry Potter

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)

Book and writing awards

Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, Gold Award (1997, 1998, 1999) (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban); British Children's Book of the Year (1998) (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone); National Book Awards Children's Book of the Year (1999) (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets); Whitbread Children's Book of the Year (1999) (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban); British Book Awards (2000), Author of the Year; Hugo Award for Best Novel (2001) (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire); British Book of the Year (2006) (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince); Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award (2010), inaugural award winner.

Similiar authors to J. K. Rowling

Philip Pullman