J. K. Rowling is the author of the beloved, bestselling, record-breaking Harry Potter series. She started writing the series during a delayed Manchester to London King's Cross train journey, and during the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first novel.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published in the United States by Arthur A. Levine Books in 1998, and the series concluded nearly ten years later with
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, published in 2007. J. K. Rowling is the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees including an OBE for services to children's literature, France's Legion d'Honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award. She supports a wide number of causes through her charitable trust Volant, and is the founder of Lumos, a charity working to transform the lives of disadvantaged children. J. K. Rowling lives in Edinburgh with her husband and three children.
Jim Kay won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012 for his illustrations in A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Jim studied illustration at the University of Westminster and since graduating has worked in the Archives of Tate Britain and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Jim has produced concept work for television and contributed to a group exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He now lives and works in Northamptonshire, England, with his partner and a rescued greyhound.
