J.K. pseudonym brings windfall for UK charity
British author J.K. Rowling’s unmasking as the writer of a crime thriller, The Cuckoo’s Calling, published in April under a male pseudonym Robert Galbraith, has resulted in a windfall for a British Army charity.
ABF The Soldiers’ Charity will get all global net royalties for the novel for three years and it has also received a substantial donation from the law firm Russells, which had been instrumental in Rowling’s unmasking. Rowling on Wednesday announced she would donate all royalties she is entitled to for The Cuckoo’s Calling to the Soldiers’ Charity for a period of three years, dating from July 14, 2013- the day that Robert Galbraith’s identity was unmasked.
“I always intended to give The Soldiers’ Charity a donation out of Robert’s royalties but I had not anticipated him making the bestseller list a mere three months after publication (indeed, I had not counted on him ever being there!),” Rowling said in a statement, adding that the donation was “partly as a thank you to the Army people who helped me with research.” A partner at the London law firm Russells was revealed as the person responsible for unmasking Rowling’s identity as Robert Galbraith and the firm issued an apology to the writer. However, Rowling had launched a case against Russells partner Christopher Gossage and his friend Judith Callegari after it emerged that the lawyer had told Callegari, his wife’s best friend, about Galbraith’s real identity. Callegari had then revealed this in a Twitter exchange with a journalist. The law firm and the two defendants issued an apology to Rowlings in the court, presided over by Justice Sir Michael Tugendhat. The law firm and the two defendants will pay “substantial damages” to the writer, which will be donated to the Army charity. The law firm will pay Rowling’s legal costs. The charity welcomed the donations by the creator of the Har-ry Potter series. “We are thrilled by the generosity of J.K. Rowling, who is such an internationally renowned author,” Major General Martin Rutledge, chief executive of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, said. “This donation will make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of soldiers, former soldiers and their families who are in real need.”
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