Archive for April, 2010

JK Rowling, the celebrated author of the path breaking Harry Potter series of books has her name written down in the annals of literary history. Every one, of all age groups and across geographical boundaries has been touched by the charm of this magical story. The Harry potter books can boast of claiming the number one position on the top of The New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. The latest one belonging to the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is no exception.

It would be appropriate here to give a little background of the author of these books. Joanne Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury near Bristol, England. After graduating from Exeter University, she started working as a secretary, and later moved on to teach English in Portugal. She currently resides in Scotland with her husband and three children. Her most noticeable achievements include winning the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Whitbread Award for Best Children’s Book.

It was in 1998 in United States that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was published. With this we witnessed the Potter-mania engulfing the whole nation, with both the children and the parents wanting to read the same books! The rest came out in quick succession, and by the fall of 1999, two new books had come out. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire got released on 8th July, 2000 and within 48 hours of its release, sold about three million copies to become the fastest selling book in history! This title was claimed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when it got released on June 21, 2003.

Warner Bros, the film production company has the rights to create films on all the Harry Potter books released till now. The Harry Potter books by Rowling have been translated into 63 languages and distributed in over 200 countries. Moreover, all the five books released so far have appeared in the bestsellers list of United States, Britain, and around the globe.