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JK Rowling writes secret crime novel under false name | JK Rowling writes secret crime novel under false name |
(about 11 hours later) | |
JK Rowling has secretly written a crime novel under the guise of male debut writer Robert Galbraith. | JK Rowling has secretly written a crime novel under the guise of male debut writer Robert Galbraith. |
The Harry Potter author was acclaimed for The Cuckoo's Calling, about a war veteran turned private investigator called Cormoran Strike. | The Harry Potter author was acclaimed for The Cuckoo's Calling, about a war veteran turned private investigator called Cormoran Strike. |
The book, published in April, had sold 1,500 copies but Amazon reported sales were up by about 500,000% as of noon. | |
Rowling's secret emerged in the Sunday Times, telling the paper she had "hoped to keep this secret a little longer". | |
She described "being Robert Galbraith" as a "such a liberating experience". | |
"It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name," she told the newspaper. | |
One reviewer described The Cuckoo's Calling as a "scintillating debut". Another praised the male author's ability to describe women's clothes. | One reviewer described The Cuckoo's Calling as a "scintillating debut". Another praised the male author's ability to describe women's clothes. |
A clue that Rowling was behind the novel was that she and "Galbraith" shared an agent and editor. | A clue that Rowling was behind the novel was that she and "Galbraith" shared an agent and editor. |
The book was published by Sphere, part of Little, Brown Book Group which published her foray into writing novels for adults, The Casual Vacancy. | The book was published by Sphere, part of Little, Brown Book Group which published her foray into writing novels for adults, The Casual Vacancy. |
Rowling said her editor, David Shelley, had been "a true partner in crime". | Rowling said her editor, David Shelley, had been "a true partner in crime". |
Crime writer Peter James told the Sunday Times: "I thought it was by a very mature writer, and not a first-timer." | Crime writer Peter James told the Sunday Times: "I thought it was by a very mature writer, and not a first-timer." |
While crime author Mark Billingham, who reviewed the book ahead of its publication, said he was "gobsmacked" at the revelation. | |
Rowling also caught out others with her new guise. | |
Turned down | |
Kate Mills, fiction editor at Orion Books, admitted she had turned down the crime novel, which she described as "well-written but quiet". | |
"So, I can now say that I turned down JK Rowling. I did read and say no to Cuckoo's Calling. Anyone else going to confess?" she tweeted. | |
Sales of the novel have rocketed since the true identity of its author was revealed. | |
The "Movers and Shakers" section of Amazon, which charts gains in sales by the hour, says sales of the book are currently up by more than 507,000%. | |
The fictitious Galbraith was supposed to have been a former plain-clothes Royal Military Police investigator who had left the armed forces in 2003 to work in the civilian security industry. | The fictitious Galbraith was supposed to have been a former plain-clothes Royal Military Police investigator who had left the armed forces in 2003 to work in the civilian security industry. |
In previous interviews, Rowling has said she would prefer to write novels after Harry Potter under a pseudonym. | In previous interviews, Rowling has said she would prefer to write novels after Harry Potter under a pseudonym. |
Another Cormoran Strike book by Robert Galbraith is in the pipeline, to be published next year. | Another Cormoran Strike book by Robert Galbraith is in the pipeline, to be published next year. |