Joanne "Jo" Murray, née Rowling OBE [LINK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/793844.stm] Caine heads birthday honours list. BBC News. 17 June 2000. Accessed 25 October 2000. (born 31 July 1965),[LINK: http://content.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3578] JK Rowling Biography. Scholastic.com. Accessed 20 October 2007. who writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British writer and author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold nearly 400 million copies.Booth, Jenny. November 1 2007. Accessed November 1 2007. The 2007 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £545 million, ranking her as the 136th richest person and the 13th richest woman in Britain.