Joanne Rowling, (born 31 July 1965), better known under the pen name J.K. Rowling is a British author best known as the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series, the idea for which was conceived whilst on a train trip from Manchester to London in 1990. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies, and been the basis for a popular series of films. She completed and released the seventh Harry Potter book "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows" in 2007, the final book in the series. She has also written three additional "supplementary mini-books": one on the fictional wizard sport of Quidditch, a small magical bestiary, and a book of wizarding childrens' stories. After the completion of book seven, Rowling is currently writing her upcoming project. Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling and Anne Rowling, on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, 10 miles (16.1 km) northeast of Bristol. In June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher’s Stone with an initial print-run of 1000 copies, five hundred of which were distributed to libraries. Today, such copies are valued between £16,000 and £25,000. Her website can be found at www.jkrowling.com User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.