Twelve publishers rejected J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter manuscript before Bloomsbury accepted it.
The manuscript was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the story that became the opening book of the series. Rowling sent it to publishers while raising her young daughter and writing during a difficult period in her life.
The often-repeated figure of twelve refers to publisher rejections before Bloomsbury acquired the British rights. The manuscript was eventually read by Bloomsbury chairman Barry Cunningham, who supported publication after his daughter became enthusiastic about the opening chapters.
This fact is sometimes simplified into the claim that exactly twelve individual editors rejected the book. The more accurate wording concerns publishers or publishing houses. Once published in 1997, the novel became an international bestseller and launched a seven-book series.