J.K. Rowling Sues Lawyer For Revealing Pseudonym

J.K. Rowling has slammed lawyer Chris Gossage with a $1650 fine for revealing she had penned the novel "The Cuckoo's Calling" under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith

Last July, Chris Gossage, a partner at Russells Solicitors and representative of the author leaked the news that author J.K. Rowling had penned the novel "The Cuckoo's Calling" under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. While this revelation may have done wonders for the success of the book, it didn't do the lawyer any good, who found himself in hot waters for leaking the information.

The author has slammed Gossage with a $1650 fine and reprimanded him with a written warning on account of breaching privacy rules.

According to a Chicago Tribune report, Rowling said that she was "very angry" and "disappointed" with the whole affair.

"I feel very angry that my trust turned out to be misplaced," the tabloid quoted Rowling saying in a statement in July. "To say that I am disappointed is an understatement."

The book was published by Sphere, part of Little, Brown Book Group which published Rowling's first novel for adults, "The Casual Vacancy."

"At the time, it had been "wonderful" to publish without hype or expectation and to get feedback under a different name even if that meant some publishers rejected her work as they had when she first touted her Harry Potter books," Reuters reported the author as saying.

Rowling's U.S. publisher, Hachette's Mulholland Books imprint, which had 10,000 copies of the title available in all formats during the time of revelation went back to press for another 300,000 copies. The scarcity of copies dramatically drove up the price of first edition copies of the novel. A U.K., signed first edition of "The Cuckoo's Calling" was auctioned off and fetched approximately $1,300.

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