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J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter's magic has touched a huge audience of all ages all over the world. In America, there are nearly 80 million books in print, and each title has been on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. The fifth title, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, has already broken records with its first print run of 6.8 million copies and a second print run of an additional 1.7 million copies, a figure unprecedented for any book. J. K. Rowling has won the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the Whitbread Award for Best Children's Book, a special commendation for the Anne Spencer Lindbergh Prize, and a special certificate for being a three-year winner of the Smarties Prize, as well as many other honors. She has been a featured guest on "60 Minutes," "The Today Show," and "Larry King Live." Rowling has also been named an Officer of the British Empire. Rowling first thought of Harry while riding a train back in 1990. "Harry just strolled into my head fully formed." She worked on the book for several years, finding quiet moments while her daughter napped. Several publishers turned down the finished manuscript before one took interest. In 1998, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published in the United States, kicking off Harry-mania. Suddenly, kids were reading again, and their parents wanted to read the same books! The second and third books were published in the spring and fall of 1999. On July 8, 2000, the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire became a major celebration, with bookstore events occurring at midnight nationwide. The book sold an unprecedented three million copies in the first 48 hours of release and according to Publishers Weekly is "the fastest-selling book in history." Warner Bros. enjoys certain rights in respect to all the Harry Potter books and has exercised its option to create films on all of those that have been published to date; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets have each been released to critical praise and record-setting box-office success. With over 170 million books sold, the books have been translated into 55 languages and distributed in over 200 countries. Each of the first four books are currently on bestseller lists in the United States, Britain, and around the globe. Joanne Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury near Bristol, England. After she graduated from Exeter University, she found work as a secretary, and later spent time teaching English in Portugal before moving to Edinburgh, Scotland, with her daughter. She currently resides in Scotland with her husband and two children.
Mary GrandPre: Educated at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Mary GrandPre began her career as a conceptual illustrator for local editorial clients. Continually experimenting with media, Mary underwent many artistic changes in her expressive visual form. Her concerns for light, color, drawing, and design came together in evocative, ethereal pastel paintings evolving toward a style she now calls "soft geometry". Mary's new work attracted corporate advertising and editorial clients. Some of the include: Ogilvy & Mather, BBD&O, Whittle Communications, The Richards Group, Neenah Paper, Atlantic Monthly Magazine, Random House, Berkley, Penguin, Dell and McGraw Hill publishers. Recently, she was featured on the cover of Time Magazine for her work with the Harry Potter Series and also worked as a visionary in the environment/scenery development in DreamWorks animated film Antz. Mary's work has received national recognition through awards received from: The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, Graphis, Print and Art Direction. Her work was chosen among thousands of illustrators to be on the cover of Showcase 16, and an article was written about her "conceptual editorial assignments" in Step-by-Step Graphics. Communications Arts Magazine has also done a "career retrospective" article in their January/February 200 edition. Additionally, Mary has now illustrated six beautiful children's books and is at work on the seventh. Her book illustration possesses highly personalized lyrical story interpretations and has received very favorable reviews in the national press. It is unusual for an illustrator to work successfully in so many genres of illustration at one time, from advertising and corporate to editorial and children's books. Her reputation is now world renown for her delightfully stunning illustrations.
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