Hey, Camp Fans!
Writing is one among many of the creative arts to be offered as an activity at summer camp. In fact, if you’re like yours truly here, you seek out the summer camps with a big focus on writing to attend—like I did when I was a summer camper. On this Blog, we like to zero in on some of the record setters and pioneers of sports, crafts, and other summer camp activities. And who else to highlight as a record setter in the field of Writing than the author of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, J. K. Rowling?
We’re going to take a look at some of the records she holds along with other achievements she’s conquered through her fantastically popular children’s series about the boy who didn’t know he was a wizard.
Being a published author doesn’t suddenly grant you wealth beyond your wildest dreams. Unless you’re J.K. Rowling, that is. After finishing the fifth book in the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, Ms. Joanne Kathleen Rowling became the first and remains to be the only billionaire author.
J.K. Rowling’s seventh and final book in her series, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ set a new Guinness World Record in 2007 as the fastest-selling book in history. This novel sold more copies than any other book in the first 24 hours of its release! That’s some serious sales!
Excluding religious texts such as the Bible and Quran, the novel at the top of the list for most copies sold is ‘Don Quixote’ at 500 million copies. The ‘Harry Potter’ series—all seven books together—have sold over 450 million copies. That’s an average of roughly 65 million copies per book. The first book, ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ was by far the most commercially successful, selling over 120 million copies worldwide!
When a book is translated into different languages, it’s a pretty big deal. It means it can reach the populations of other countries! The ‘Harry Potter’ series has been translated into 67 languages. There are certainly other books that have been translated more, however, it’s impressive that Rowling’s series has been translated more than double other books including classics like ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’.
This tale of wizards and witches went well beyond what most people ever expected a children’s book series to do, seeing amazing popularity, film adaptations, and crazy sales! You can bet it feels good to be J.K. Rowling, reaping the benefits of a little story she decided to start writing down one day! Maybe you’ll go on to beat Rowling’s records someday. And, as always, thanks for reading.
- John