J.K. Rowling is often asked questions by fans and budding writers about her writing process: where she writes, how she writes, her inspiration and her research, how a book comes about, from the germ of an idea to the editing process and eventual publication.

For the first time, J.K. Rowling has responded to those questions, discussing openly and in depth about her writing including Harry Potter, her other children’s books The Ickabog and The Christmas Pig, as well as writing as Robert Galbraith, the Cormoran Strike crime fiction series.

The On Writing series will consist of three episodes, watch the first one here.

The Free Press announced today that J.K. Rowling will appear in a new podcast series, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, hosted by writer and producer, Megan Phelps-Roper.

This wide-ranging audio documentary examines some of the most contentious conflicts of our time, and includes J.K. Rowling talking in depth about the controversies surrounding her, from book bans to debates on gender and sex.  The series also examines the forces propelling this moment in history, through interviews with Rowling’s supporters and critics, journalists, historians, clinicians, and more.

The series begins on Tuesday, 21 February 2023.

To see the trailer for the series, and for more information: thefp.com/witchtrials.

J.K. Rowling will join Simon Armitage on his BBC Radio 4 programme, The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed on Saturday 24^th July at 7.15pm.

In the shed, J.K. Rowling discusses the joys and the pains of writing with fellow author Simon Armitage, explaining how she picked up a pen to start again after the huge success of the Harry Potter series.

She also brings a very special ‘show and tell’ into the shed, giving Simon the chance to dip into her very first notebooks, never before shown publicly, in which she jotted down early ideas for the first Potter book, including the names of the pupils in Harry’s class.

Coming soon a new interactive section on J.K. Rowing’s website for younger readers to discover and explore the different imaginary worlds of her children’s fiction.

On J.K. Rowling’s Stories, visitors will first arrive at a writing desk that includes meaningful, personal items reflecting the author’s writing life.  Children will be able to dive into the magic of Harry Potter’s wizarding world, embark on an adventure with new character the Christmas Pig, or come face to face with the mythical Ickabog – at the same time as getting to know the author a little bit better.

In addition, The Ickabog social media channels will be rebranded to J.K. Rowling Stories so if you didn’t follow them before, check out the Facebook and Twitter pages as well as the newly launched Instagram for the latest on  J.K. Rowling’s children’s stories.

The special extended edition of BBC Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity featuring J.K. Rowling went out over Christmas and is available to listen again as a BBC Comedy of the Week podcast until 30^th January 2020. Listen here.

J.K. Rowling was joined by music producer Glyn Johns, comedian Shazia Mirza, curator Bridget Christie and host John Lloyd on the panel of the award-winning radio show.  In this Christmas Special edition of the programme Jo reveals what she would donate to the imaginary museum, and gives a fascinating insight into her creative writing processes.

J.K. Rowling will join comedian Shazia Mirza and music producer Glyn Johns on the panel of a special extended edition of BBC Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity this Christmas.  The award-winning radio show, which is hosted by John Lloyd and features guest ‘curator’ Bridget Christie, asks three distinguished guests to donate fascinating exhibits to a vast imaginary Museum.

The programme will air on Monday 23rd December at 6.15pm GMT on BBC Radio 4, and is repeated over the Christmas period.

On 8th May 2012, J.K. Rowling was granted the Freedom of the City of London. The Freedom of the City of London is one of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence today. It’s believed that the first Freedom was presented in 1237.

The medieval term ‘freeman’ referred to someone who was not beholden to a feudal lord, but enjoyed privileges such as the right to earn money and own land. Town dwellers who were protected by the charter of their town or city were often free – hence the term ‘Freedom of the City’.