J.K. Rowling

• Literary agent: Neil Blair, The Blair Partnership ([email protected], +44 207 504 2520)
• Publicist: Nicky Stonehill & Rebecca Salt, StonehillSalt PR ([email protected], +44 1620 829 800)
• Additional publicist: Mark Hutchinson (independent)
• Business inquiries: The Blair Partnership or StonehillSalt PR

Rowling's charity Lumos has been active in Ukraine since 2013, initially working on deinstitutionalization in the Dnepropetrovsk region and later shifting to Zhytomyr, where institutionalized children decreased by 48%. After the February 2022 invasion, Rowling personally matched donations up to £1 million for the Lumos Emergency Ukraine Appeal. In 2022 alone, Lumos delivered humanitarian aid to 13,400+ children, distributed 100+ tonnes of supplies, and provided 25,900 psycho-social support sessions in Ukraine.

In May 2022, Pottermore Publishing released Ukrainian translations of Harry Potter books for free online. Rowling tweeted #IStandWithUkraine in March 2022 and used "Glory to Ukraine" in January 2023 when responding to a Ukrainian fan. She also sharply rebuked Putin after he invoked her name in a "cancel culture" rant, tweeting: "Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians."

Key Ukrainian relationships: Ambassador Oksana Markarova (participated in a joint conversation with Rowling at a Lumos New York event in September 2023); Daria Herasymchuk, Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights (same event). Lumos Ukraine is directed by Yaroslav Laguta, a former Ukrainian senior civil servant.

The strongest bridge to Rowling runs directly through Lumos itself — specifically via Yaroslav Laguta (Ukraine Director), CEO Howard Taylor, and Communications Director Freya Paleit ([email protected]). The existing relationships with Markarova and Herasymchuk provide high-level Ukrainian government access. Lumos partners with "Ukraine without Orphans", Hope and Homes for Children, Comic Relief, and Save the Children in Ukraine. The Rowling–Stephen King friendship is now estranged (she blocked him over transgender rights disagreements), so King is not a viable intermediary.

Rowling's charitable giving exceeds $200 million. She founded Lumos (2005, CEO: Howard Taylor, focused on ending child institutionalization) and the Volant Charitable Trust (2000, £86M+ in grants for Scottish social deprivation causes). She also funds Beira's Place (women's sexual violence support in Edinburgh) and the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic at the University of Edinburgh (£25.3M+ donated). Her core themes are children's rights, women's welfare, poverty, and multiple sclerosis research.

Assessment: Highest-priority candidate in this batch. She already has deep, sustained Ukraine engagement through Lumos. The approach should be through Lumos's Ukraine team and should emphasize complementary rather than duplicative humanitarian work. Key consideration: her transgender rights advocacy has made some organizations cautious about association.