A profile of the wonderful JK Rowling as she turns 50

She made her name writing children’s book yet is considered one of the literary talents of a generation. As her 50th birthday approaches, fellow author, Louise O’Neill profiles the wonderful JK Rowling

I CAME to the Harry Potter phenomenon a little bit later than everyone else. I was twelve when the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released and considered myself far too grown up for such juvenilia. I couldn’t understand why so many of my friends were obsessed with the books, and I was even more bewildered when, at the age of 22, they queued up at midnight to buy the final book in the series. A week later, sick of hearing me mock her, one of my best friends bought me a copy of The Philosopher’s Stone.