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Five in most influential woman title showdown
 

FIVE women are set to battle it out for the title of Scotland's most influential woman.

JK Rowling is among the nominees for the NCH Scotland Women of Influence award, which will be held in Glasgow.

This year's award recognises those who have worked hard to improve the lifestyles and education of children.

The Harry Potter author is joined by world champion athlete and Olympic silver medallist Liz McColgan, now a coach for youngsters and charity fundraiser, and Scottish Youth Theatre chief Mary McCluskey.

Also nominated are Catherine Lockerbie, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and Professor Christine Hallet, whose pioneering child protection work has helped shape social policy.

Lord Advocate Eilish Angiolini, a former winner of the title, said: "These awards mark the significant contribution women from diverse communities make to our national life.

"In our mothers' and grandmothers' time women received very little recognition.

"Today, it is a very different story.

"The awards also highlight the vital work NCH does to support Scotland's children and young people and raise an incredible amount of money to support that work."

The awards, to be hosted by Evening Times columnist Heather Suttie, are on Sunday at the Barony Hall.

Publication date 06/03/07

Posted by: Kathy on 4:59pm Wed 7 Mar 07
Go Jo
Posted by: Lauren, halifax on 6:49pm Wed 7 Mar 07
WOOOO!!! yup, J.K Rowling has definitly influenced my life. My harrry potter obcession started back in grade three when my mom started reading the books to me. but she was always busy and i couldn't get enough of the harry potter books!! so i began to read them myself, and well, it's been my favorite books series ever since! i have a membership on mugglenet and i visit it daily, i read the series over and over again and it never gets old! and harry potter was what got me so hooked on books at a young age, and i've always been excellent at grammar and i beleive that it is because of the harry potter books. rowling's an AMAZING writer and even when the series is all written and finished ,:(, i know i'll still be reading her fabulous harry potter books! she really knows how to create a great picture in the minds of people of all ages! and i can never seem to put the book down even if it is the fifteenth time i've read it!!! rowling deserves this award and any hard core harry potter fan would agree!!
Posted by: Jen, England on 6:54pm Wed 7 Mar 07
Jo has to win this! i mean come on there's no competion - she's an inspirational woman who's led a path for female's with big ambitions everywhere. No matter what type of back ground you come from (rich or poor) you can make it if you try! JO ALL THE WAY!!!
Posted by: Tena Troy, California on 7:17pm Wed 7 Mar 07
I use to hate to read when I was seven but because of her books I learned to love reading more than anything else! We love you Jo! ^-^
Posted by: minna, new york on 8:29pm Wed 7 Mar 07
lk rowling is the perfect nominee she rox!
Posted by: Alex, Bermuda on 8:38pm Wed 7 Mar 07
J.K. Rowling got kids reading again! I always loved to read and got all the harry potter books. My brother absolutely hates reading but when I let him burrow the first book, he couldn't put them down. Now, he's dying for the 7th one, and he's going to the bookstore at midnight with me to pick our prepaid copies! YOU ROCK JO! ITS SAD TO SEE THE END OF IT BUT THAT WAS ONE HECK OF A RIDE!! THANKS GIRL!!
Posted by: Caitlin, Indiana on 9:21pm Wed 7 Mar 07
JK has to win, she's completely and utterly amazing!! She's totally my hero forever, and Harry Potter has been my biggest obsession since I was in third grade. ((I'm a sophomore in high school now, haha.)) I love her to death, she's fantastic!! =D
Posted by: nicola, reading,berks uk on 10:10pm Wed 7 Mar 07
Even at 21 i love jk's work, she writes in a fashion that is loved by all ages, sex's and backgrounds.
At the end of the day we all had a wish when we were kids that the type of magic jo talks about was real.
Posted by: cody, independence, MO. on 10:18pm Wed 7 Mar 07
omg! jo better win! iv'e been obsessed with harry potter since 1 grade... haha im in 7th grade now. i cant wait until the 7th harry potter book come out!
Posted by: NoneOfYourBusiness, McDonalds on 10:57pm Wed 7 Mar 07
Jo Rowling ftw! She is ah-mazing and if she doesn't deserve it I don't know who does! She's so inspiring and her books are a great motovation! THANK YOU JKR! <3 you are ah-mazing and I luff you.
Posted by: Laura, usa on 12:51am Thu 8 Mar 07
Jo Rowlings story (her story not Harry's) is incredible, she made me realise that with hard work, effort and determination ANYTHING is possible. I come from a less wealthy background in Scotland and am now living my dream in the USA. All of it because I realsed that your only limited by your own determination, by reading Harry Potter, loving it, and finding out about the life that created it. Jk Rowling deserves this award above all others. Shes amazing and so is Harry!
Posted by: Rebecca, Australia on 7:36am Thu 8 Mar 07
I really believe Jo deserves to win this. She has changed the lives of so many people young and old. She has got a whole generation of kids reading again, which I think is absolutely wonderful. She has worked so hard on the books, and she has come so far from where she used to be. Apart from that, her contribution to the MS Society Scotland, is amazing. I believe she is a genuinely nice perso and she has made a wonderful contribution to childrens lives all around the world.
Posted by: Rebecca, Australia on 7:37am Thu 8 Mar 07
I really believe Jo deserves to win this. She has changed the lives of so many people young and old. She has got a whole generation of kids reading again, which I think is absolutely wonderful. She has worked so hard on the books, and she has come so far from where she used to be. Apart from that, her contribution to the MS Society Scotland, is amazing. I believe she is a genuinely nice perso and she has made a wonderful contribution to childrens lives all around the world.
Posted by: Blaze Kojcevski, Macedonia on 8:35am Thu 8 Mar 07
Go ! Go ! Jo!!!!!
Posted by: Lenny on 8:33pm Thu 8 Mar 07
I am thrilled to heat that J.K. Rowling has been nominated for the title of most influential woman. Her books have become a huge asset to English literature and have inspired thousands of children (including myself) across the world to read more. J.K. Rowling truly is an insperational woman and would surley deserve this award.
Posted by: smimo on 9:56pm Thu 8 Mar 07
jooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Posted by: Sabrina, BC, Canada on 1:21am Fri 9 Mar 07
Go J.K. Rowling!
Posted by: Kate, Kentucky, USA on 1:26am Fri 9 Mar 07
J.K. Rowling rocks my socks! i have pretty much grow up w/ harry potter i started reading them in 2nd grade and will graduate in 2010 the year the 7th movie comes out. but just a question, does anyone know who the other women are? sry, i don't know i live in the U.S.
Posted by: jen -- and her ecstatic pen, The Cupboard Under the Stairs, # 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey on 7:52am Fri 9 Mar 07
Jo, you rock! The Harry Potter books definitely got me interested in reading. Thanks, Jo, for being such a great role model for girls and young women everywhere! :) we love you, Jo!

Even though I'm here all holed up in this dark, dirty cupboard under the stairs (read my "location"!), I find solace in reading your books. It gives me hope that someday, a friendly half-giant named Rubeus Hagrid will hopefully come to rescue me.

Actually, that doesn't really fit. I can't live in a cupboard because I am SO much more like Hermione! I am a TOTAL bookworm. yeah, really. Because the Harry Potter series got me hooked on reading! So there, Laura Mallory and all anti-HPs.

Long live Jo, Harry Potter, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, McGonagall, the Weasley family, everybody in the Order of the Phoenix, and also everybody else EXCEPT Voldemort and the REAL Death Eaters! (ok, ok. yeah, i know that some of the good guys have 2 die. but i cried when Dumbledore died, even though i know harry must "fend for himself")

Accio the manuscript for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! Accio, accio!
Posted by: Rupal, Kolkata ,India on 4:50pm Fri 9 Mar 07
Jo rocks !!it wiil take earth hundreds of years to produce a person like her .
Posted by: Brett, Statesville, NC on 3:09am Sat 10 Mar 07
If JK doesn't win then someone in Scotland cheated.
Posted by: sonalika, delhi India on 12:54pm Sat 10 Mar 07
Jo is a non renewable personality the way she writes things mysteriously and the smallest thing in the book becomes the biggest thing(like in book 3 Neville dropped the written passwords and ...)its just amazing

<a href="http://www.mygirlyspace.com"><img src="http://img.freecodesource.com/gallery/images/banners/prod_594_15813.gif" border="0" alt="Myspace Layouts" title="Myspace Layouts"></a><br><a href="http://www.mygirlyspace.com">Myspace Layouts</a><br>

please keep writing books
and i hope to see voldemort a no. of times in future

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thanks for making my life beautiful and interesting
Posted by: Jackie, North America on 3:52pm Sat 10 Mar 07
JK Rowling has indspired me since, I was very young. Thanks to her I am now well on my way to becoming an author, inspired by her great works. She's also given me an awesome tradition since book one of reading with my father and brother, I can't wait till book seven! Ms. Rowling has been a major contribution to my favorite genre fantasy and for that, I thank her.
Posted by: Casey Cagle, United States on 3:35am Mon 12 Mar 07
We're all routin' for you Jo.
Posted by: Goce Kojcevski, Gostivar, Macedonia on 10:11pm Sat 17 Mar 07
I just wana talk to BLAZE KOJCEVSKI
Blaze ako go procitas ova javi mi se na e-mail
bas me interesira od kade i ti KOJCEVSKI se
prezivas
Mail-ot e: g.kojcevski@student.mf.edu.mk
Posted by: kelan, england,leicester on 4:48pm Sat 21 Apr 07
oooooooooooooh my goodness i sooo hope jk gets the award she's my hero and so deserves it so many children wouldn't even like reading if it wasn't for hershe rock man!!!!!!
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