Books of Harry Potter:

1. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone: Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has spent the first ten years of his life living under the stairs in the house of his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, who generally dislike him. Then, one day, a giant, named Hagrid, comes to him with an invitation to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry soon discovers that there are two worlds: one is the dreary world of the Muggles where he's grown up, and the other is one of magic and fantasy, and it's the latter in which he's destined to live.

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Harry Potter begins his second year at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, but is warned by a mysterious creature that danger awaits him at the school. Malevolent voices whisper from the walls. Soon it's not just Harry who is worried about survival, as dreadful things begin to happen at Hogwarts.

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: It's Harry's third year at Hogwart's, but a shadow hangs over the school. A dangerous mass murderer, Sirius Black, has escaped Azkaban Fortress - the Wizards' Prison. While learning to cope with the Dementors sent to protect Hogwart's, Harry learns the disturbing story of Sirius Black and yet more of his own history.

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: It's Harry's Fourth Year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he is worried about this year. He has been having bad dreams of two men plotting murders. Harry is invited by Ron Weasley to got to the Quidditch World Cup. At the cup, strange things happen, and what is called the "Dark Mark" appears over the stadium. Once he gets to Hogwarts, everyone finds out that the school is hosting the TriWizard Tournament, a competition between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons Academy, and Durmstrang Institute. When Harry is unwittingly chosen to compete in the tournament, he meets the challenge of his life, and a new teacher shows far too much interest in him than what is normal. Will Harry be able to win the tournament, and unmask plots that go deeper than his mysterious dreams? Only one thing is certain, Harry is going to have his greatest challenge yet.

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts begins a little bumpy when he's attacked and then called to a hearing for improperly using magic outside of school. And that's before the term even begins! At school, he discovers that the Ministry of Magic has installed an inquisitor named Dolores Umbridge to oversee the teachers and students and make the Defense Against the Dark Arts class basically useless. So it's up to Harry and Ron and Hermione to take matters into their own hands.

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: As Harry Potter begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers a old book marked mysteriously "The Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldermort's dark past.

J.K. Rowling Biography:

Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born on July 31, 1965, in Chipping Sodbury, near Bristol, England. A single mother living in Edinburgh, Scotland, Rowling became an international literary sensation in 1999, when the first three installments of her Harry Potter children's book series took over the top three slots of the New York Times best-seller list after achieving similar success in her native United Kingdom.

The phenomenal response to Rowling's books culminated in July 2000, when the fourth volume in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, became the fastest-selling book in history.

A graduate of Exeter University, Rowling moved to Portugal in 1990 to teach English. There, she met and married a Portuguese journalist. The couple's daughter, Jessica, was born in 1993. After her marriage ended in divorce, Rowling moved to Edinburgh with her daughter to live near her younger sister, Di. While struggling to support Jessica and herself on welfare, Rowling worked on a book, the idea for which had reportedly occurred to her while she was traveling on a train from Manchester to London in 1990.

After a number of rejections, she finally sold the book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (the word "Philosopher" was changed to "Sorcerer" for its publication in America), for the equivalent of about $4,000. By the summer of 2000, the first three Harry Potter books: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban earned approximately $480 million in three years, with over 35 million copies in print in 35 languages.

In July 2000, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire saw a first printing of 5.3 million copies and advance orders of over 1.8 million. Rowling, now one of Britain's richest women, plans a total of seven books in the series, each chronicling a year in the life of Harry Potter, a young wizard, and his motley band of cohorts at the Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The fifth installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, hit book stores June 21st, 2003, roughly 3 years after the fourth book was released.

A film version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire) was released November 16th, 2001. In its opening weekend in the U.S., the film debuted on a record 8,200 screens and smashed the previous box office record, earning an estimated $93.5 million ($20 million more than the previous recordholder, 1999's The Lost World: Jurassic Park). It ended the year as the top-grossing movie of 2001.

The second film in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, opened on November 15th, 2002 and had the third best opening weekend in box office history.

In late December 2001, Rowling married anesthetist Dr. Neil Murray at the couple's home in Scotland. Her second child and first son, David Gordon Rowling Murray, was born on March 24th, 2003, at the new Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. To care for their son, Rowling publicly planned less appearances and book signings for the fifth book.

Shortly after announcing the sixth book in the Harry Potter series was completed, Rowling gave birth to her third child on January 23, 2005, a daughter named Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray.

The sixth Harry Potter book entitled, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was officially released at 12.01AM on July 16th, 2005. To launch the book, J.K. organized an incredibly special event at Edinburgh Castle. She participated in several interviews, mostly with the Harry Potter books' younger readers. Her longest, and by far the most interesting, was conducted with none other than MuggleNet’s creator Emerson along with Melissa from TheLeakyCauldron. It is widely agreed that the launch parties for the sixth book around the globe were more spectacular than any other Harry Potter book launch.

Right now, J.K. Rowling is taking a short break to spend quality time with her newly born daughter, Mackenzie, along with Jessica and David. She has begun writing book seven, but not “properly”; the serious writing is to begin in January 2006 and the book is expected to be published in approximately two years’ time.

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