The Ultimate Fantasy Series Ranking

Author page

J.K. Rowling

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-08-06

Joanne Rowling was born on July 31, 1965, in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, and attended Wyedean School and College before earning a degree in French from the University of Exeter in 1987, including a year of study in Paris. After graduating she worked a series of jobs in London, including a position with Amnesty International researching human rights abuses. In 1990, during a delayed train journey between Manchester and London, she conceived the idea for a boy wizard named Harry Potter. She moved to Portugal in 1991 to teach English and continued writing there, then relocated to Edinburgh in 1993, where she completed the manuscript for the first Harry Potter novel while raising her daughter alone. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in 1997, and the seven-book series that followed went on to sell more than 600 million copies. Rowling has also written crime fiction under the pen name Robert Galbraith, and was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to literature and philanthropy.

Universe(s)

Harry Potter

  • Core Canon books: 7
  • Current rank: #2 in the official ranking
  • Weighted average: 4.52
  • Award recognitions: 6 won, 1 nomination

Books

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