Harry Potter author JK Rowling wins Hans Christian Andersen award

JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, has won the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Prize.
The Telegraph, 20 October, 2010

JK Rowling holds her HC Andersen Literature Prize 2010 Photo: REUTERS She is the first recipient of the 500,000 kroner (£59,000) award, which was handed out on Tuesday at a ceremony in Odense, Andersen's hometown.


The prize is given to a person who can be compared with Andersen, the Danish writer who was born in 1805 and wrote some 160 fairy tales and poems before his death in 1875.

Rowling's seven books about the boy wizard have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide and have been translated into many languages.
Earlier this month she was named the most influential woman in Britain by the National Magazine Company.