J. K. Rowling
Daniel Ogren, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · licence

ROWLING, J. K., born 1965

J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling (born 1965) is a British author, creator of Harry Potter, who also writes crime fiction as Robert Galbraith.

Also wrote as Robert Galbraith

Books
26
Editions tracked
51
First editions
27
Nationality
United Kingdom

WikidataOpen LibrarySearch within J. K. Rowling

About J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling (born 1965) is a British author who created the Harry Potter series, seven novels published between 1997 and 2007 that have sold more than 600 million copies in 85 languages.

Joanne Rowling was born on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire. She studied French and classics at the University of Exeter and later trained as a teacher at Moray House School of Education. She has said the idea for Harry Potter came to her on a delayed train in 1990.

Bloomsbury published Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in London on 26 June 1997; Scholastic's Arthur A. Levine imprint issued it in the United States in September 1998 as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The series ended with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007, and the film adaptations ran from 2001 to 2011. Her first novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy, appeared in 2012. As Robert Galbraith she writes the Cormoran Strike crime novels, beginning with The Cuckoo's Calling (2013). Later children's books include The Ickabog (2020) and The Christmas Pig (2021).

For collectors. The first Bloomsbury hardback of Philosopher's Stone had a print run of 500 copies, about 300 of which went to libraries, and its jacket was illustrated by Thomas Taylor. Wikipedia reports copies from that run selling for as much as 471,000 US dollars at a Heritage auction in 2021. Prisoner of Azkaban was published by Bloomsbury on 8 July 1999; its first UK hardback state has a misplaced line break in a block quotation on page 7, corrected in two later states.

For collectors

Collect J. K. Rowling

Earliest first editionHarry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneBloomsbury, 1997 Most editions trackedHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone5 editions
First published by
Series
Reading guide

J. K. Rowling books in order

In publication order

  1. 1Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone1997
  2. 2Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets1998
  3. 3Harry Potter (series) 1-41999
  4. 4Harry Potter (series) 1-71999
  5. 5Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban1999
  6. 6Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire2000
  7. 7Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them2001
  8. 8Harry Potter2001
  9. 9Quidditch Through the Ages2001
  10. 10Harry Potter (series) 1-52003
  11. 11Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix2003
  12. 12Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince2005
Show all 26 books in order
  1. 13Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows2007
  2. 14The Tales of Beedle the Bard2008
  3. 15The Casual Vacancy2012
  4. 16The Cuckoo's Calling2013
  5. 17The Silkworm2014
  6. 18Career of Evil2015
  7. 19Very Good Lives2015
  8. 20Harry Potter and the Cursed Child2016
  9. 21Fantastic Beasts2018
  10. 22Lethal White2018
  11. 23The Ickabog2020
  12. 24Troubled Blood2020
  13. 25The Christmas Pig2021
  14. 26The Ink Black Heart2022

By series

Cormoran Strike 5 books
  1. The Cuckoo's Calling 2013
  2. Career of Evil 2015
  3. Lethal White 2018
  4. Troubled Blood 2020
  5. The Ink Black Heart 2022
Hogwarts Library Books 2 books
  1. Quidditch Through the Ages 2001
  2. The Tales of Beedle the Bard 2008
In order

First editions, year by year

  1. 1997Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneBloomsbury
  2. 1998Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsBloomsbury
  3. 1999Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanBloomsbury
  4. 1999Harry PotterBloomsbury Publishing
  5. 1999harry potterpottermore
  6. 2000Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireBloomsbury
  7. 2001Harry Potter Box Set: Books 1-4Bloomsbury Publishing
  8. 2001Quidditch Through the AgesArthur Levine Books an imprint of Scholastic Press in association with Wizz Hard Books
  9. 2001Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemBloomsbury Publishing
  10. 2003Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixBloomsbury
  11. 2003Harry Potter Box SetBloomsbury Publishing
  12. 2005Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceBloomsbury
  13. 2007Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsBloomsbury
  14. 2008The Tales of Beedle the BardChildrens High Level Group
  15. 2012The Casual VacancyLittle, Brown
  16. 2013The Cuckoo's CallingSphere
  17. 2014The SilkwormMulholland Books
  18. 2015Career of EvilSphere
  19. 2015Very Good LivesLittle, Brown
  20. 2016Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildArthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic
  21. 2018Lethal WhiteSphere
  22. 2018Fantastic BeastsArthur A. Levine Books
  23. 2020The IckabogScholastic
  24. 2020Troubled BloodSphere
  25. 2021The Christmas PigHachette Children's Group
  26. 2022The Ink Black HeartLittle, Brown
Books and editions

Which edition do you have?

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

J. K. Rowling · first published 1997 · Harry Potter

Spot the first: Title page: Bloomsbury named at the foot of the page (Bloomsbury UK edition)

  1. 1st Bloomsbury1997 Pictorial boards Not yet valued Log in to want this
  2. 1st Bloomsbury1997 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this
  3. Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic Press1998 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
  4. Bloomsbury2017Bloomsbury Gryffindor House Edition · Sprayed edges Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
1 more matching edition →

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

J. K. Rowling · first published 1998 · Harry Potter

Spot the first: Copyright page: Number line runs the full sequence from 10 down to 1 (first impression)

  1. 1st Bloomsbury1998 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
  2. Bloomsbury1998 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this
  3. Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic Press1999 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
  4. Bloomsbury2018Bloomsbury Hufflepuff House Edition · Sprayed edges Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

J. K. Rowling · first published 1999 · Harry Potter

Spot the first: Copyright page: The copyright line credits Joanne Rowling, not J.K. Rowling (first state)

  1. 1st Bloomsbury1999 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
  2. Bloomsbury1999 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this
  3. Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic Press1999 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
  4. Bloomsbury2019Bloomsbury Slytherin House Edition · Sprayed edges · Foiled Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

What order should I read J. K. Rowling's books in?

In publication order they begin with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), then Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998) and Harry Potter (series) 1-4 (1999). Books in a series are listed in series order on this page.

What was J. K. Rowling's first book?

The earliest book we list is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first published in 1997.

When was J. K. Rowling born?

J. K. Rowling was born in 1965.

How many J. K. Rowling books does MyVolumes track?

We track 26 books by J. K. Rowling across 51 editions, 27 of them first editions.

How do I know if my J. K. Rowling book is a first edition?

Open the book's page here and compare the publisher, place, date and the issue points we list for the first printing with your copy's title page and copyright page.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026.

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