J.K. Rowling delivered the Harvard Commencement speech later published as Very Good Lives in 2008.
Rowling gave the address at Harvard University’s 357th Commencement on 5 June 2008. Her speech focused on the value of failure and the importance of imagination, drawing on her early professional difficulties and her experience writing Harry Potter.
The printed edition, titled Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, was published in 2015. Proceeds supported the charity Lumos and Harvard’s financial-aid programs, linking the book to Rowling’s philanthropic work as well as her writing career.
The year of the speech is sometimes confused with the year of the book’s publication. Rowling spoke at Harvard in 2008, while Very Good Lives appeared seven years later in 2015.