Rowling’s crime novel alias revealed

15 July 2013 Books+Publishing

Harry Potter author J K Rowling has been unmasked as the writer of crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling (Little, Brown), written under the alias of Robert Galbraith and published in April this year, reports Reuters. Galbraith was described as a married father of two and retired military policeman and publisher Little, Brown promoted the book as a ‘classic crime novel in the tradition of PD James and Ruth Rendell’. The Sunday Times uncovered Rowling as the author after becoming suspicious and investigating ‘how a first-time author with a background in the army and the civilian security industry could write such an assured debut novel’. ‘I had hoped to keep this secret a little longer because being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience,’ said Rowling in a statement. ‘It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name.’ Rowling said that she will continue writing the series under Galbraith’s name and Little, Brown has confirmed plans to reprint The Cuckoo’s Calling with a ‘revised author biography’.

Category: International news