J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular Harry Potter books. After the idea for Harry Potter came to her on a delayed train journey in 1990, she plotted out and started writing the series of seven books and the first was published as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the UK in 1997. The series took another ten years to complete, concluding in 2007 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
To accompany the series, J.K. Rowling wrote three short companion volumes for charity, Quidditch Through the Agesand Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of Lumos. She also collaborated on the writing of a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which was published as a script book.
Her other books for children include the fairy tale The Ickabog and The Christmas Pig, which were published in 2020 and 2021 respectively and have also been bestsellers. She is also the author of books for adults, including a bestselling crime fiction series.
J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honors for her writing. She also supports a number of causes through her charitable trust Volant and is the founder of the children’s charity Lumos.
To find out more about J.K. Rowling visit jkrowlingstories.com.
Kennilworthy Whisp is a renowned Quidditch expert (and, he says, fanatic). He is the author of many Quidditch-related works, including
The Wonder of Wigtown Wanderers,
He Flew Like a Madman (a biography of "Dangerous" Dai Llewellyn), and
Beating the Bludgers -- A Study of Defensive Strategies in Quidditch. Kennilworthy Whisp divides his time between his home in Nottinghamshire and "wherever Wigtown Wanderers are playing this week." His hobbies include backgammon, vegetarian cookery, and collecting vintage broomsticks.
Newt Scamander was awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class, in 1979 in recognition of his services to the study of magical beasts, Magizoology. Now retired, he lives in Dorset with his wife, Porpentina, and their pet Kneazles: Hoppy, Milly, and Mauler.
Olivia Lomenech Gill has a first class degree in Theatre from the University of Hull and an MA in Printmaking from Camberwell College of Arts. She has built her career as a professional fine artist and has been exhibited at all the major London art fairs. Olivia's first professional illustration commission,
Where My Wellies Take Me, written by Clare and Michael Morpurgo, was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal and won the English Association Picture Book Award. Olivia lives and works in north Northumberland in a timber studio she built by hand with her husband, a paper conservator. They also have a workshop in a nearby village, which houses Olivia's three-ton printing press.
