Harry Potter her publishers to adopt a more gender-neutral pen name in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), using her grandmother's name as her second name because she has no middle name. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published by Bloomsbury, the publisher of all "Harry Potter" books in the United Kingdom, on 26 June 1997. It was released in the United States on 1 September 1998
Harry Potter influences and analogues Harry Potter influences and analogues Writer J. K. Rowling cites several writers as influences in her creation of her bestselling "Harry Potter" series. Writers, journalists and critics have noted that the books also have a number of analogues; a wide range of literature, both classical and modern, which Rowling has not openly cited as influences. This article is divided into three sections. The first section lists those authors and books which Rowling has suggested as possible influences on "Harry Potter". The second section deals with those books which Rowling has cited as favourites without mentioning possible influences. The third section