A few days ago, the author of the world-renowned “Harry Potter” series J.K. Rowling responded with words of encouragement to a young Egyptian female writer who reached out to her. The young writer spoke of the constraints she feels, tweeting “You inspired me to write. However, in Egypt, girls can’t do anything freely as boys. They laugh at me when I say I am a writer.” Moved by her message, Rowling – whose final instalment of the Harry Potter franchise sold 11 million copies in the first day – responded: “Don’t you dare let their laughter extinguish your ambition. Turn it into fuel! Big hugs from one writer to another x” Despite being one of the most successful female writers in the world, J.K. Rowling infamously struggled to get recognised in the early years of her career. Indeed, despite sending the partial manuscript of her first book – which would later become Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – to twelve publishers, just one expressed interest in purchasing the rights of the book, and none made a concrete offer. Bloomsbury Publishing House eventually accepted her book after the eight-year-old daughter…
