The Adventures of a Boy Wizard became the second best-selling books after the Bible. The series of novels about studying at Hogwarts has sold half a billion copies and has been translated into 70 languages.
In 2004, Ms. Rowling was named the richest woman in Britain, and in 2011 she became the only writer to earn over $1 billion from writing.
Although Forbes removed the novelist from its list of billionaires in 2012 due to her extensive philanthropic activities and high taxes, she remains the world's highest-paid writer.
As of November 2018, Forbes lists her as having a net worth of $54 million, and in the “Celebrity 100 – 2018” list, she is number 42.
On her personal Twitter, the novelist modestly indicated only one type of activity - “writer.” We will complement it job description, because Rowling is also a producer and screenwriter.
JK Rowling's biography begs to be shown on screen or in book pages, it is so reminiscent of the fairy tale about Cinderella. There was a time when her life companions were poverty, loneliness and a diagnosis of depression, with suicidal tendencies. What spell should be cast to transform despair into faith, and poverty into wealth? The secret to JK Rowling's success lies not in having a magic wand, but in her purposeful nature.
The story of how the parents of the future writer met is very romantic. Both Londoners, Peter James Rowling and Anne Volant met in 1964 on a train from King's Cross station to Scotland. The young people were heading to the locations of the Royal Navy. When the girl froze on the road, Peter gallantly offered her his coat. Their wedding took place about a year later on March 14, 1965, the newlyweds turned 20.
James Rowling and Anne Volant, parents of JK Rowling
King's Cross Station would later become Rowling's key location in the magical world, the starting point that opens the gates to the world of magic. Now the station has a wonderful photo zone where everyone can try to get onto platform 9 3/4. Many iconic scenes from novels take place in this location.
Actors Jude Law and Edward Redmayne, who starred in the prequels of the Harry Potter films - “Fantastic Beasts”
After getting married, the Rowlings moved to South Gloucestershire to Yate, a town with a population of just over 20 thousand people. The head of the family worked as an aeronautical engineer for Rolls Royce in Bristol, Anne worked as a scientific specialist.
Joanne Rowling is born on July 31, 1965. The family called her “Jo”; they only called her “Joan” when they were angry. Less than 2 years later, on June 28, 1967, the couple’s second daughter, Dianne, was born. The Rowlings soon moved to Winterbourne, and when Joe turned 9, they went to Tutshill near Chepstow, south-east Wales. This is the geography of young Joe’s movements.
Ms. Rowling enjoyed reading bedtime stories to her daughters.
Joe's favorite children's books include The Mouse of the Isle of Man by Paul Gallico, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and The White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge.
Jo not only listened to fairy tales, but also composed and read them herself. little sister. The first was the story about Mr. Rabbit, which the girl wrote at the age of 6, at which time she decided to become a writer. At 11, Joe writes his first more serious work - a novel about 7 cursed diamonds and their owners.
The photo shows the Rowling sisters who look similar to each other.
Jo grew up a bookish child: “I was a bookworm, complete with glasses and freckles.” Many celebrities can be called inveterate bookworms, these are both, and.
Joe was also influenced by the autobiography of human rights activist Jessica Mitford, “Hons and Rebels,” which her aunt gave her as a teenager. Rowling admits that from the age of 14, brave Jessica became her heroine.
School: not Hogwarts at all
School years will give Joan many bright prototypes future history.
Director primary school at Tatshila St Michael's Primary School, Alfred Dunn will inspire her to create the image of the wise Albus Dumbledore. The writer wrote off the inquisitive Hermione Granger as an 11-year-old. In high school, Rowling, like Hermione, will be a prefect.
Hermione Granger, whose image was portrayed on the silver screen by actress Emma Watson
The prototype of the flying car from the 2nd book about Harry Potter will be the turquoise Ford of Sean Harris, her friend in high school. So the first flying car is not a Tesla Roadster launched into space, but a naughty passenger car invented by JK Rowling)
The high school Wyedean School and College, which Joe attended, proudly lists the name of the famous student on Wikipedia. Joe’s mother also worked here as a research assistant.
The building of the Wyedean School and College, where the future writer studied
Joan has a misunderstanding with one of the teachers, who divided the class into “smart people” and “fools”, and geographically. Joe got the last desk, the place for the fulmars. But there were also teachers whom the writer remembers with pleasure: they read her works to the whole class and inspired her to continue writing.
Joe's favorite subjects were language and literature, English, of course. Steve Eddy, an English teacher, remembers the student as "non-exceptional, but good in English."
In high school, Rowling took classes in English, French and German at A-levels (the degree of qualification of a school subject), eventually achieving two As and B - not the maximum, but a good result.
When the girl was 15, life became darker terrible diagnosis diagnosed to the mother as “multiple sclerosis”. At that time, Anne Rowling was 35 years old.
Studying at the University
In 1982 Rowling after unsuccessful attempt to become a student at Oxford University, successfully enters the philological department of the University of Exeter. In her French and Classics major, in addition to French, Rowling studied ancient Roman and ancient Greek literature.
The course program included a year of study in Paris, where the student shared an apartment with an Italian, Russian and Spaniard. Summarizing her stay in the French capital, Jo noted: “This is one of the most beloved cities on earth.”
The writer admits that she did not strain herself in her studies, preferring to read Dickens and Tolkien. She had to pay a £50 fine for overdue books from the student library.
With a bachelor's degree in hand, Rowling left Alma Mater in 1986.
Inspiring work
A fresh graduate moves to London. In the capital, she changes several employers until she gets a job at Amnesty International, where she works until 1990 as a bilingual secretary. The organization defended human rights in French-speaking African countries. Sitting in a small office, Joan read hastily written letters in which people risking their freedom informed about how the totalitarian regime infringes on human rights. Joan calls the opportunity to do her part to protect the downtrodden one of the most inspiring experiences.
Potter. Harry Potter: a boy was born on a train
Joe falls in love for the first time, decides to quit his job and move to Manchester with his boyfriend. It is on the train from Manchester to London, which was stopped for 4 hours due to problems, that the image of an orphan boy comes to Joan, with ridiculous glasses and with magical abilities that he is not aware of. Jo named the young wizard Harry Potter: she always liked the name Harry, and the surname “Potter” was borne by a childhood friend. That same day, Jo began writing the first chapters.
It's no surprise that many of Rowling's exciting plot twists and vivid dialogues unfold on the train.
The Hogwarts Express alone is worth it!
The writer shared her birthday with Harry: “the boy who lived” was born on the same day as Joan.
Non-Magic Years: 1990-1997
From the moment the image of Harry Potter appeared until the publication of the first book, 7 years passed. It was a difficult period for the writer.
Mother's death
The last time Jo saw her mother was just before Christmas. 12/30/1990 45-year-old Anne Rowling died of multiple sclerosis. The tragic loss greatly influenced Rowling: in the first book, describing Harry's experiences, she outlined her own feelings of loss loved one. In 2006, the author admitted to reporters from The Telegraph that death, the fear of death, is the leitmotif of the plot: positive hero experiences the death of parents, and main villain has an obsession with conquering death.
"Ten points to Gryffindor!"
Why do some books become bestsellers while others don't? Hundreds of people are trying to understand the Harry Potter phenomenon. literary critics, bloggers and ordinary readers. When The New York Times commissioned Booker Prize winner Antonia Byatt to write about Potter's success, she summed it up: “Ms. Rowling's world is derivative, pieced together from an intellectual mosaic of derivative motifs from all kinds of children's literature. History is written for people whose creative lives limited to cartoons, soap operas and reality shows.”
However, millions of readers disagree with her opinion. Children, and even the adult generation, recognize themselves in Harry and his friends. Injustice of teachers, boring and difficult subjects, teachers' favorites and class outcasts - all schoolchildren are faced with these concepts. Young readers grow up with the heroes, each next book describes a new academic year at the school of witchcraft and wizardry.
Harry is devoid of global vices and global virtues; in ordinary life you wouldn’t pay attention to him: a poor-sighted, kind and calm boy.
Our world is filled with images of bright extroverts (books, cartoons, movies, advertising) who easily push competitors aside with their elbows (“faster, higher, stronger!”). Potter’s gentleness and non-aggression, his tolerance for “eccentrics” (Neville, Luna), and at times reflection (remember his “preparation” for the Triwizard Tournament), are revealed - lo and behold! – not as vices, but as virtues. By the way, the ability to hear someone else’s point of view, communicate with different people, finding compromises will play a key role in the 21st century - as evidenced by the rankings of skills in demand in the future.
Young readers like to believe that they, too, can become winners by being themselves. This is the basis for the appeal of another character created by Rowling – the shy Newt Scamander (Scamander).
Some readers do not approve of the "domesticated" Harry Potter, as he is shown in the epilogue of book 7. Rowling herself states that a real hero for her, someone who can return to peaceful life and appreciate its simple joys, forgetting about the barricades.
As of 2018, JK Rowling has written five books for adult audiences:
1 novel “The Casual Vacancy” (2012), based on which the BBC released a television series of the same name (2015).
2 books about private detective Cormoran Strike (more than 7 are planned). The first three novels topped the bestseller charts. The BBC adapted the books into the television series Strike (2017-2018):
- The Cuckoo's Calling (2013)
- Silkworm (2014)
- In the service of evil (2015)
- Deadly White (2018)
The writer publishes novels in the crime fiction genre under the male pseudonym Robert Galbraith, explaining: “I wanted to distance myself from ‘Harry Potter’s mom’ as far as possible.” The author admits that as a child she wanted to be called “Ella Galbraith.” Rowling herself loves to read detective stories by Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, and Margery Allingham.
In vain did the novelist want to hide under a new name, in vain did the publisher compose a biography of Galbraith: “former investigator of the Royal Military Police.” Writer and journalist India Knight, who worked for The Sunday Times, learned that Rowling and Galbraith had the same editor and literary agent. Linguistic analysis confirmed the similarity of Joan's and Robert's texts. After the discovery of authorship, the demand for books increased by 4000%. The writer announced that she would donate royalties from the massive increase in sales to the charitable foundation.
When asked how the writer manages to come up with ideas in two different fictional worlds (Harry Potter's Wizarding World and Cormoran Strike), Rowling assures that she has no problem with this:
"I represent fictional worlds like the different rooms that you have access to. These worlds occupy discrete spaces in my mind, and as soon as I re-enter one of them, the characters are as full of reality as when I left them.”
Personal life: happy with bearded “Harry Potter”
JK Rowling is the mother of three children, a daughter from her first marriage, and a son and daughter from her second. The writer is happy in her second marriage.
When she started dating Neil Murray, a Scottish anesthetist, the media commented: “Joe has a boyfriend who looks like Harry Potter.” Her husband, if he resembles a boy wizard, is only with glasses. Having changed his glasses to sunglasses and grown a beard, Neil ceases to look like Potter at all, and rightly so, because Joan could not answer his proposal otherwise than: “you have a beard - I’ll tell you yes!”
Mr. Murray is 6 years younger than Joan (born June 30, 1971), their marriage took place on December 26, 2001. Only close relatives were present at the ceremony, the wedding took place in her home on the banks of the River Tay, the 19th-century estate Killiechassie House, Scotland. In addition to this mansion, Joan owns a £4.5 million house in Kensington, west London.
The writer changed her maiden name and signs her personal files “Joan Murray.”
On March 24, 2003, the couple had a son, David (David Gordon Rowling Murray). In the first interview after the birth of the heir, the writer admitted that now that she is nearby loving husband and beloved children, truly happy.
On January 23, 2005, the Murray couple gave birth to a daughter, Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray.
Now Neil has given up medical practice and helps his wife with travel and publishing.
Tcreative process: tea+Tchaikovsky
- She used to like to write in cafes, but now her popularity prevents her from writing in public catering establishments. He names a small house in his own garden as his favorite place to write.
- he writes texts with a pen on paper, after which he retypes and sends the manuscript to the publishing house. When there is nothing to write down an idea on, any more or less suitable object will do: a napkin or a receipt. For example, the writer recorded the names of the Hogwarts faculties who came during the flight on a paper bag.
- began writing books about Harry Potter while listening to lyrical concerts by P.I. Tchaikovsky. The composer's music continues to inspire his writing, as does classical works other authors
- “he who gets up early, God gives him”: from 9 am to 15-00 he can work without a long break. During this time, he consumes 8-9 cups of tea and snacks on popcorn. Calling herself "clumsy," Rowling doesn't keep food on hand that could ruin her keyboard.
Portrait of the writer: “Philanthropist, labor activist, recluse, and finally, just a beauty!”
Philanthropist: let there be light!
Rowling was excluded from the list of billionaires for a reason: the novelist generously funds areas close to her, giving millions to single parents, disadvantaged children and centers for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
Rowling created the BF in 2000 Volant Charitable Trust(“Volant” – maiden name Mothers), which supports women, children and adolescents experiencing social deprivation.
In 2005, the writer founded the Charitable Foundation Lumos(“Lumos” is a spell from the world of Harry Potter that creates a source of light), helping mentally retarded children in the poor European countries. In 2017, the organization found loving families for 599 children.
In 2006, Rowling subsidized Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, new clinic in regenerative medicine at the University of Edinburgh, later named after her mother.
Formerly a single mother, Joan heads the BF Gingerbread(“Gingerbread”), helping single parents.
Foundation Comic Relief received £12 million - 80% of the profits from sales of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch: From Antiquity to the Present Day.
In 2009, the auction lot was a chair by JK Rowling, which she personally painted and signed “I wrote Harry Potter while sitting on this chair.” The chair was purchased for $29 thousand, the money also went to charity.
Labor
In 2008 she contributed £1m to the Labor Party and openly supported Prime Minister Gordon Brown's child poverty policies.
In 2014, the year of the Scottish independence referendum, Rowling contributed £1 million to the anti-independence Better Together campaign. Rowling compared some Scottish nationalists to the Death Eaters, the dark wizards from Harry Potter who despise “non-purebloods.”
Hermit
Calling herself “thin-skinned,” Rowling doesn’t often give interviews. As of 2011, Joe had about 50 lawsuits against members of the press: tabloids either published photos of her with her daughter on the beach without asking, or wrote fables about her personal life, or did not correctly calculate fees.
In the “black list of media” in first place Daily Mail, which interviewed her first hubby. The difficult relationship with journalists is embodied in the image of Rita Skeeter, an employee of the yellow press, whom the reader first meets on the pages of “GP and the Goblet of Fire.”
Popularity and media attention now do not allow Rowling to enjoy the simple pleasures of life: sitting in a cafe, going shopping. She even held the wedding at her home to avoid the annoying attention of reporters. Protecting your personal space is an appropriate practice for a writer who is subject to increased attention and constant criticism. This does not mean dissatisfied fans who found “non-canon” in the next spin-off. Rowling’s work is not approved by the Church; in some states of America, her books were burned because of “calls for witchcraft.” “Until now, not a single child has told me that after reading Harry Potter he decided to devote himself to the occult,” Rowling shares.
Rowling is a Christian at a young age raised in the Church of England , and later joined the Scottish congregation Church of Scotland congregation.
You look good in all your outfits, darling.”
Joan seems to have stepped out of the pages of English novels: in the photo she is elegant, sophisticated and discreet.
The writer is not afraid to post selfies online, and they are quite competitive with her professional photographs.
Thanks to Twitter, you can also see the writer’s favorite dog named Bronte.
However, the writer does not post pictures in the “family look” style on Twitter and does not wash dirty linen in public. Maybe everything is really clean there?
Impact on culture
The influence of JK Rowling's books is difficult to overestimate; there is even special term"Pottermania" - social phenomenon, characterizing people who are passionate about the world of GP.
There are references to the boy magician in books and movies: remember the film “The Devil Wears It”, where main character is running wild in search of Rowling's new manuscript.
Fans write fan fiction based on the world, designers decorate interiors in the Harry Potter style, creatives come up with quests, programmers develop computer games Based on the world, memes and demotivators are composed. The fantasy world attracts, excites, and evokes a desire to create (and make money from it) in thousands of people.
Hogwarts color combinations and paraphernalia are embodied in interior design
Large organizations also have not escaped the influence of the Potter world: in the Amazon office there is a Harry Potter room, and in Google there is a lounge in this style.
A lounge at Google, designed in the style of “The World of Harry Potter”
In 2018, Christmas decorations stylized after the world of Harry Potter were installed in Singapore airport terminals, which they promise will not be removed until February 2019.
And in October 2018, in London, as part of the Urban Art Initiative, an installation was opened at St. Paul’s Cathedral: 9 magic wands, 4.5 m high. The art object, created to draw attention to Rowling’s Charitable Foundation “Lumos”, will be in effect until February 18.
The square near St. Paul's Cathedral in London is additionally illuminated with magic wands until February 2019
After the release of the book series in the UK, the number of children wishing to study in boarding schools and boarding schools increased. The demand for closed educational institutions, which have had a shortage for decades, has been called the “Harry Potter effect.”
Generations have grown up hearing stories about a young magician with a lightning scar on his forehead.
Rowling was able to attract young readers to her books, surrounded by smartphones, tablets and computers. Children read her novels at night, and the books don’t even have pictures!
Her works have changed reading habits around the world. With her help, the phrase “a book is the best gift” turned from ironic to true! What could be more surprising and magical?
Video for dessert: 10 mansions that people don’t want to buy even for a penny
JK Rowling is not only the famous British writer and creator of Harry Potter. She is a well-known philanthropist and supports numerous organizations, including own fund Lumos." Four years ago, Rowling was even excluded from the list of billionaires according to Forbes; she gave away about $160 million to those in need, which is 16% of the writer’s fortune.
In 2005, Rowling founded her own foundation, Lumos, whose goal is to help orphans.
When asked why orphans, Rowling replied in an interview with The Sunday Times: “I saw a photograph of a boy in a small crib with bars and was speechless. That picture touched me so much because there is no one more defenseless than a child, perhaps with mental or physical disabilities, who has lost his family. “I suddenly realized how big of a problem it was, and that’s when it all started.”
However, the topic of orphans has always occupied JK Rowling, because the main character of her books, the young wizard Harry Potter, is also an orphan, he was left without parents in infancy. And Lumos is one of the spells in the book, it lights up a light on the end of a wand.
Rowling spoke about the work of her foundation and helping orphans great interview famous British television and radio presenter Lauren Laverne. During the interview, there was a broadcast on Facebook, and listeners had the opportunity to ask their questions to the writer.
The Philanthropist publishes Lauren Laverne's conversation with JK Rowling, in which Rowling explains why she never responds to email, how the problems of wizards and people differ and whether it is possible to help all the orphans in the world.
About the Lumos Foundation
JK Rowling's charity Lumos was created in 2005, initially it was called Children's High Level Group, and in 2010 it was renamed Lumos - this is one of the spells in the Harry Potter books. The Foundation has set itself the goal of ensuring that no child remains in orphanage: by 2030 - in Europe, by 2050 - throughout the world. The foundation promotes the idea of “deinstitutionalization,” which involves returning children from institutions to families and redirecting funds intended for the creation of orphanages to support community centers that help families.
The Foundation cooperates with the governments of various countries and international organizations, insists on changes to legislation, trains specialists, and advises government agencies.
Over 6 years, Lumos has trained 27 thousand specialists. The foundation has large programs in Moldova, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, as well as in Greece, Serbia and Ukraine. The Foundation advises government agencies in Japan and Malaysia. There is an American branch of Lumos, which conducts programs including in Haiti, and the organization will soon begin work in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This year, the foundation began working in Russia, for example, the KAF Foundation’s “Family for a Child” program was created jointly with Lumos. This is a training program for specialists in placing children from institutions into families.
The fund exists largely thanks to proceeds from the sale of J. K. Rowling's books. In addition, the foundation has private donors and a grassroots donation program. So, the foundation sells T-shirts via the Internet.
J. K. Rowling pays all administrative costs of the foundation, so all funds raised go to support Lumos programs.
— What an incredibly busy year for you! Of course, first of all this theatrical performance. You have been running the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” for several months, which has received rave reviews from the audience, and the published script for the play has become a number one bestseller. On November 18, the film “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” based on your script, was released, and, of course, it is worth mentioning the novel “In the Service of Evil,” another bestseller under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The book was published in paperback this year. How do you manage to do all this?
— My family supports me, and I also never answer emails.
I realized that life becomes much easier if you forget about the things that you generally have to do. This is very annoying to others, but my priorities are my writing life, Lumos and my children. Children usually come first on this list, depending on how they behave.
Almost 10 years have passed since its release last book about Harry Potter. What's it like to immerse yourself in the world of magic again with the new Fantastic Beasts movie?
- 2016 was a truly magical year, because I really pulled away - not completely, of course; I can’t completely distance myself from Harry Potter. But I didn’t think about him for 6 or 7 years, and during that time I wrote “The Casual Vacancy” and the first book under the pseudonym Galbraith. I've written a few other things that will probably come out sooner or later, so I've had a really big break, but deep down I always knew that Fantastic Beasts was going to happen. And Harry Potter... he's a magnet in himself because the fans are still so enthusiastic, so passionate about his story. I don't think I'll ever leave Harry Potter behind forever, and to be honest, I don't want to.
- So you can return to him at any time?
- A lot of children and adults are now simply delighted that you have returned to the world of magic, and many say - even I heard this from my friends, but, of course, they tell you this all the time - that it is the books about Harry Potter instilled in their children a love of reading.
- I always say the same thing - and, believe me, I say it completely sincerely. For me, such words are truly the best assessment of my work. People tell me: “First I read books to my child, then he read them himself, then we stood in line together at midnight, and then we just bought several copies of each so as not to quarrel over the books.” Of course, I benefit from every copy sold - but that's not the point; I'm just incredibly pleased to hear this.
In addition, another phenomenon is very important for me personally, which I understand very well. I know that books that are steeped in my personal experiences at times like pain and loss mean a lot to readers who are going through difficult times. Especially from young people - and not only - I very often hear that my books have become an outlet for them, Hogwarts has become a safe haven, and the characters have become a real family. All this means a lot to me.
- So, in fact, we have come to main topic Today's conversation is about the significance and importance of family for a person. After all, one of the main, key tasks of the Lumos Foundation is to support families all over the world.
- This is the key point. All research over the past 80 years indicates that the constant love and care of a significant adult is the basis for the normal development of a child, psychological, emotional and even physical development.
This doesn't mean that you have to be the perfect advertising family, with an average of 2.2 children, but that you literally need personal, individual, loving relationships. Usually your own family can give them to you, sometimes a new friend can give them to you.
But we know that today about 8 million children in the world are in orphanages, and it is known that about 80% of them are not orphans.
I think it's very unexpected fact. In fact, many will find it difficult to change their perception and believe that the majority of children in orphanages are not orphans.
This is understandable, because they are also called “orphanages”, what else were you supposed to think? We already seem to be simply proceeding from this cultural premise, although there is little logic in this - after all, most of those present in the room today grew up in fairly prosperous countries, and we know that we no longer have such institutions, that’s what we’re talking about. But based on our cultural tradition, we are accustomed to thinking that a shelter is a place for a child who simply has nowhere else to go. Unfortunately, this tradition is very far from reality. Today, thanks to numerous studies, we know for sure that such institutions are the most unsuitable place for a child.
I have seen babies who have learned not to cry, I have met babies who are ready to go into my arms, despite the fact that they saw me for the first time in their lives: anyone who has ever dealt with small children understands that they are all programmed for love, for the search for love. When a child cries, he is not necessarily hungry: he cries because he wants to be cared for. Such children are especially vulnerable, they have serious problems with the formation of attachment. Our film contains a reference to a Russian study that, compared to their peers, children who leave orphanages upon reaching their 18th birthday are 10 times more likely to be involved in prostitution, 50 times more likely to have a history of criminal activity, and 500 times more likely to commit suicide. 500 times. This is a massive tragedy that no one talks about.
Harry Potter, hero of Rowling's books, orphan
“Of course, it is obvious to any parent that if anything happens to them, an orphanage should be the very last option. Anyone would prefer their children to be raised by relatives or friends, or, as you said, to be cared for individually. But are there countries where this choice is not available? And there are parts of the world where parents have to abandon their children simply so that they do not starve.
— Yes, sometimes it’s just a matter of feeding the family, and the system of orphanages itself provides an incentive to family breakdown. So yes it is good question, I get asked this question often.
We ourselves are to blame for this, we encourage this system with the very, very, very good intentions, we all in this room donated money to help children. This is normal, this is a basic instinct, we want to help children, and this is very commendable and noble.
In fact, however, it is likely that your donations feed into the very core of the problem - you yourself just mentioned that poverty is at the top of the list of reasons why children are sent to institutions.
The only way to feed your child is to send him to an orphanage, only there you can get help from medical specialists - this is why there are many children with disabilities in orphanages all over the world.
As a result, unfortunately, it turns out that even orphanages, which are created with the best intentions and in which everything is organized at the highest level, harm children, and this is confirmed by numerous studies.
Moreover, unfortunately, there are also institutions for children that actually operate like a business, because if donors willingly donate money to orphanages, their number increases. This happens not because parents die, but because orphanages are a magnet for money and volunteers - again, with the best intentions. They not only want to help children in orphanages, but also bring foreign currency with them to the country. And finally, the most frightening and shocking aspect is that such institutions are a real mecca for molesters and rapists.
Children are separated from biological family, no one is watching what happens to them, and I already talked about their problems with forming attachments - so they are extremely easy to manipulate.
- So where does this happen? And why do orphanages still exist despite the fact that we know that they do not give anything good to children? Or are we going back to the financial cycle you described?
— Orphanages appear in places affected by natural disasters. In any countries with high level poverty. This happens all over the world: there are orphanages on every continent.
There will always be cultural differences. Sometimes the reason for the emergence of child care institutions is also the reason why they cannot be eradicated. I'm talking about poverty.
In a situation where there are tens of thousands of children in institutions, it is impossible to do without funds to organize retraining of staff, train people locally, create a new, more advanced system - everything requires money.
Therefore, when Lumos asks people for support, 100% of donations go to implement programs to help children... Sometimes we are talking about children who are hungry or very sick. 100% of the funds go to help our target group because I cover the operating expenses of the foundation. It is very important that people understand this.
— Recently on Twitter you drew attention to the problem of volunteers working in orphanages abroad.
— Yes, it started when I wrote something in support of Lumos. And as often happens when I post a tweet, many people responded to it - this is a completely normal process - and many asked me to retweet in support of their charities. And one of the responses asked me to support a charity that I'm doing a big favor to by calling it a charity because it's actually a "travel agency" for volunteers.
And I just got carried away, I couldn’t stop - in my opinion, this is correctly called a tweet storm. And in the end the communication was very tough.
“Voluntourism” is a term that is probably familiar to most of those present, but just in case, I’ll explain: it describes the phenomenon when people go abroad as volunteers, however, unlike volunteering as such, volunteerism does not bring any benefit to anyone.
So, volunteer tourists are usually young people who, of course, are guided by the best intentions. They go to orphanages, work with children, and then leave forever, thereby perpetuating attachment disorders in poor children.
And according to this agency that responded to my tweet, volunteering is a great “resume-brightening” experience, and that made me really sick.
I'm glad that in the end I didn't get personal, although I wanted to. But otherwise I would not have been able to fully convey my thoughts to the readers. I wanted to general outline outline the situation for young people who are thinking about becoming volunteer tourists.
This agency, which operates in Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, wrote that “many institutions have closed” - and this is precisely our merit, “Lumosa” - we are helping to close them - safely, returning children to their families or placing them into foster care. And then they wrote: “but we still have places where you can volunteer.” That is, they literally say: “everything is fine, there are still children in this country who live in terrible conditions, come and volunteer.” This upset me quite a lot and resulted in a tweet storm.
To all 18-19 year old young people who want to become volunteers, I can give one piece of advice: go work for a project that helps children in the community where they live; explore the situation; make sure you understand what you are doing and that you are truly helping. Otherwise, you may find yourself, with the best of intentions, supporting a system that actually harms children.
— What options do children have other than living on the street or ending up in an orphanage? Do such solutions exist?
- Of course, there are solutions.
It is important to note that when coming to a new country, our foundation is in no hurry to teach anyone, to assure anyone that we have the right decision. On the contrary, each of the countries where we work already has its own specialists who know what is best to do.
But they often do not have the funds, they do not have the influence that, for example, some public organizations. We are very fortunate that we work with the EU, we work with the UN and the WHO and have the opportunity to redirect the resources of these organizations. We, of course, invest our own funds, but we can help organize a whole package of support.
Joanne Rowling
- So what is the solution?
— Firstly, many have a financial interest in continuing the operation of orphanages. I say “orphanages” again – and again I don’t like this term.
Let these be institutions. We are often told: “We have a poor country, and if the institution closes, I will lose my income.”
We answer that in this case it is not necessary to lose your job. We give people the opportunity to retrain and become social or medical workers. We propose to create centers day stay children - essentially kindergartens - so that parents can go to work. We do not want to deprive people of their livelihood, we want to show how together we can effectively help children.
Here is one of the solutions we offer for institutions.
As I already said, sometimes children have very serious health problems, and of course we must provide them with food, medical care, etc.
In addition, systemic changes are needed, so we are working with government agencies on changing the legislation so that after closure, child care institutions do not reopen. It is also very important to develop a foster care system. Yes, I have already said that, given the right support, 80 percent of children can return from institutions to their families, since they will be happily accepted there. However, if this is not possible, a well-trained foster family is needed.
— It seems that Lumos is systematically dealing with this problem. That is, it all started with a spell from the book about Harry Potter, and now we see real changes.
— Yes, according to our latest data, we have already helped 17 thousand children leave institutions, which I am very proud of.
We have a variety of programs - well-trained foster families, small family-type orphanages, where children receive constant individual care and attention, which is so important to them.
In addition, thanks to us, 15 thousand children did not end up in child care institutions, and the range of countries in which we work is constantly expanding, which I am also very proud of.
- This the main objective the purpose of Lumos?
- Yes. If you choose the main thing from today's conversation, I would like you to remember one thing: orphanages are a solvable problem. We can solve it once and for all.
8 million children is incomprehensible big number, it is very difficult to fully comprehend. But they can be helped, and we can do it.
Of course, we really need money. But, besides this, we need to change the mentality: if we change the thinking, we will change the lives of these children. I want everyone to think like this: “You don’t need to give money to this shelter, you need to study the problem and find out who is solving it, who can reunite families. That’s who I’ll give the money to.” If we do this, it will change a lot. If today someone tells you, “You know, they want to volunteer at an orphanage,” or “We’re building an orphanage,” you can explain the situation to them. And a new understanding of the problem itself will help break this circle.
— Joan, you have been involved in charity work for, I think, about 10 years, and you are probably very proud of what you have achieved?
- Of course, because I know children who managed to return to their families and who now want to help us.
I know one story. We met one girl, when we first saw her, she was very small: I thought she was 12 years old, but in fact she was almost 15 - this is how institutions influence even the physical development of children. Now she is an excellent motivational speaker who educates people about the importance of deinstitutionalization. Yes, our work is wonderful, and I think in about 4 thousand cases where the children we helped were in very poor condition, we actually saved them from death. This, of course, is also a great result.
- Amazing. You probably get a lot of support from Harry Potter fans?
“I’ve never seen such active, such passionate fans, and I’m really very proud of them.”
They help us raise funds and spread information. And yes, they are amazing.
- Well, since we started talking about these amazing people... When we announced this live onFacebook, we asked listeners to ask you any questions about the Lumos Foundation - and, of course, we were inundated with questions.
I have a few here, and the first one is from Ardith Haliti, this is a great question:
- The Lumos website says that - as we have already discussed - eighty percent of children in orphanages are not, in fact, orphans. What work is Lumos doing to ensure that the remaining twenty percent of real orphans also receive the love and care they deserve?
“Yeah, that’s a great question, I get asked all the time: “Some of them are orphans, so what are you going to do with them?”
The answer is: in in some cases We need good foster families, and of course it all depends on the specific circumstances and needs of the child.
Sometimes small family-type orphanages are needed - like those previously created by the children's charity Barnardo's. They are as close to family conditions as possible - and we do this too.
Fostering a child with a local family is almost always the best placement option, but there are many other options depending on the country.
- Okay, now the next question, from Jerry King:
“I think that the story of Harry Potter gives hope to some orphans that one day a holiday will happen on their street. What do you think is the most important life lesson for a wizard?
— (Laughs) for a wizard... Well, I already said that the most important life lesson for a wizard is exactly the same as for Muggles. Because, ultimately, my books are about human nature. Even mastery of magic cannot solve all problems. The problems remain, just in a different form, people can still be intolerant and cruel.
So I will answer that the best life lesson for a wizard is the same as for all of us: “Do whatever you can, anywhere and with whatever means are available.” I think we should all try to follow this advice.
- Well, I think we can end the interview on this positive note. Thanks a lot. All that remains is to thank Joe - not only for the amazing pleasure your books have given children and adults around the world, but also for your dedication and for creating the Lumos Foundation, which changes the lives of children around the world. Thanks a lot!
Today, July 31, the English writer JK Rowling, who gave the world the story of the little wizard Harry Potter, turns 53 years old. In honor of this event, “Owl” decided to recall little-known facts from the creative and personal life of this talented person.
4. Quidditch is one of the highlights of the book about the young wizard. It turns out that Rowling also came up with it during a moment of emotional distress. She had a fight with a guy, which made her very worried - she later said that her condition could be compared to that which a man experiences when he looks basketball match. And this helped her come up with a new game - the writer sketched out notebook the rules of the new game, diagrams, graphs, and the names of the balls: she chose the Quaffle, Bludger and Snitch.
Quidditch arena. Photo: harrypotter.wikia 16 of September in Moscow, on stage International Moscow House of Music there will be a festival “Cinema sound. World Soundtracks". On this autumn evening performed chamber orchestra Collegium Musicum soundtracks from popular films will be played, including from Harry Potter. Tickets can be purchased at the Ponominalu box office or on the website.
5. It’s hard to believe, but J. K. Rowling was refused to publish the Harry Potter story by 14 publishers! And only the 15th attempt was successful - the Bloomsbury publishing house decided to accept the book for publication. At that time, it was believed that selling 3,000 copies was already jumping over one’s head. By the way, today about 500 million copies have already been sold worldwide.
Cover of the first English edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Photo: Lenta.ru 6. Many of the characters in the Harry Potter book are taken from real people. Rowling has repeatedly said that Professor Snape and Gilderoy Lockhart are exaggerated versions of her acquaintances. But Hermione is a projection on Rowling: they even have the same favorite animal - the otter.
Cover: “Mir24”
On July 31, 2017, the most famous living British writer, the mother of the famous “boy who lived” JK Rowling, celebrated her fifty-second birthday.
We invite you to find out a few little known facts about the life and work of the famous creator of Harry Potter. Let's go through some milestones in her biography...
At 6 years old
... Joan began to write. Her first creation was the book “Rabbit” about a little rabbit who had measles. The first and not very impartial critic was the mother of the future writer.
11 year old
... Joan became the prototype for Hermione Granger, an excellent student and, according to one of the Hogwarts professors, “an insufferable know-it-all.” “She’s a caricature of eleven-year-old me, which I’m not particularly proud of,” the writer said in an interview.
23 months
... Joan's first marriage lasted. She divorced her husband when she was 25. Rowling was left with a little daughter.
In 1990
…. Joan moved to Manchester, where she got a job as a teacher. in English. There she began sketching the future book about Harry Potter. The first notes appeared on a napkin when Rowling, struggling to make ends meet, was sitting on a train that was stuck on the road for four hours.
12 publishing houses
... refused to publish the first Harry Potter book. Only a year later the manuscript was accepted by the small London publishing house Bloomsbury. Even the editor-in-chief of the publishing house did not believe in success: he doubted that Rowling would make much money from children's books and advised her to find a permanent job.
Just a thousand
... printed copies amounted to the circulation of the first book about Harry. Half of them were distributed to British libraries.
1500 pounds
... made Rowling's advance for the first book about the young wizard.
Platform 9¾,
... from which the train departs for Hogwarts is not by chance located at one of the largest London stations - King's Cross. It was there that Rowling's parents met. Therefore, this place has been magical for her since childhood.
In November 2001
... the film “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was released. The writer insisted that the films be shot exclusively in Britain and with the participation of British actors.
In the third Harry Potter book
...dementors appeared - creatures that suck out the soul. They were the result of clinical depression that Rowling suffered from. She even had thoughts of suicide.
11 million copies
... the final Harry Potter book sold out on its first day of sales in England and the United States.
In 2000
... Rowling was awarded the Order of the British Empire.
$15 billion
...in total the value of the Harry Potter brand is estimated.
... Joan remarried. Her chosen one was anesthesiologist Neil Michael Murray. The couple is raising two children.
In 2007
... Rowling auctioned off one of seven handwritten and illustrated copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book of fairy tales mentioned in the pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The book was purchased for £1.95 million by Amazon.com, becoming the most expensive modern book ever sold at auction. Joan donated the funds to charity.
In 2012
... Rowling released her first book for adult readers called The Casual Vacancy. The BBC made a mini-series based on this work.
17 years
... worked on the Harry Potter novel by JK Rowling. The work was completed in February 2007.
In June 2017
... it became known that Joan had begun work on a new novel - a fairy tale with political motives.
First in the world
... Joan became a billionaire writer. In general, we congratulate her on this!
Forbes named Harry Potter author JK Rowling the highest paid writer of 2017. Over the past 12 months, Rowling, according to the magazine, earned $95 million. The writer's total fortune is $650 million
Joanne Rowling (Photo: Hubert Boesl/dpa/Global Look Press)
The author of the Harry Potter series of novels, JK Rowling, was recognized by Forbes magazine as the highest paid writer of 2017.
The magazine estimates Rowling's total wealth to be $650 million, a sum that Forbes calculates is regularly bolstered by payouts from Harry Potter theme parks in Florida, California and Japan. Moreover, this figure, as the publication explains, could have been higher if Rowling had not donated to charity over the past few years total amount approximately $150 million.
Nevertheless, the writer’s fortune, as Forbes writes, continues to increase. This, as the magazine clarifies, is mainly due to the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and the performance staged based on this script. In addition, the film “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” brings significant income to the writer. So, over the past 12 months, from June last year to June 2017, Rowling, according to the magazine, earned $95 million.
Also, as the magazine recalls, more than 450 million copies of her seven Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide. In addition, income from the media franchise, according to the publication, brought in $7.7 billion.
Second place in Forbes list occupied by the author of a series of novels about Inspector Alex Cross, James Patterson. According to the publication, he earned $87 million in a year. The third place in the magazine’s ranking of the highest paid writers, meanwhile, was taken by the famous writer from the book “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” American writer Jeff Kinney ($21 million). Also in the top ten were such writers as Dan Brown- bestselling author of “Angels and Demons” and “The Da Vinci Code” ($20 million), Stephen King ($15 million), known for his “legal thrillers” and, in particular, the book “The Pelican Brief” John Grisham ($14 million), the author of futuristic detective stories about Lieutenant Eve Dallas Nora Roberts ($14 million) and Paula Hawkins ($13 million), whose fame was brought by the novel “The Girl on the Train.”
Last year, Patterson took first place in this ranking according to Forbes. His earnings for the year, as calculated by the publication, amounted to $95 million. He then occupied the top of the list of the highest paid writers for three years in a row. Rowling in 2016 occupied only third place in this ranking ($19 million). In second place, according to the magazine, was Jeff Kinney.
Last October, it was announced that her book “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” about the Harry Potter universe would be made into five films instead of the previously planned three. “We talked about three films because we knew there would definitely be more than one, but... now we can say with confidence that there will be five films,” Rowling said at a meeting with fans in London.
