It's usually her wizard hero Harry Potter casting the spells, but it looks like JK Rowling has conjured up some magic of her own after she was voted Britain's greatest living writer.
The online survey placed the popular children's novelist above such literary luminaries as Salman Rushdie and Harold Pinter. And she received three times as many votes as the second-placed author, fantasy writer Terry Pratchett. "Our survey provides a fascinating insight into what the British public thinks makes a 'great' writer" says Christine Kidney of The Book magazine.
Joanna has come a long way since penning her first book, Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone in an Edinburgh cafe while struggling to make ends meet. The Perthsire-based mum-of-two has now amassed a personal fortune of over £520 million from her tales of the schoolboy wizard and his adventures at Hogwarts which have sold 300 million copies worldwide.
The intensely private author will be making her next high-profile appearance in August, when she is due to perform a reading in New York's Radio City Music Hall alongside John Irving and Stephen King.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
