What is the name of J.K. Rowling’s crime-fiction pseudonym?

J.K. Rowling’s crime-fiction pseudonym is Robert Galbraith. She used that name for The Cuckoo’s Calling, a detective novel published in 2013. The book introduced private investigator Cormoran Strike and his temporary assistant, Robin Ellacott.

The pseudonym was initially presented as a new male author. Rowling later confirmed that she was Robert Galbraith after the novel’s authorship was revealed. The name was partly inspired by Robert F. Kennedy and Ella Galbraith, according to accounts of the pseudonym’s creation.

The revelation created major public interest, but Rowling continued the Cormoran Strike series under the Galbraith name. Later novels include The Silkworm, Career of Evil, Lethal White, Troubled Blood, The Ink Black Heart, and The Running Grave. Robert Galbraith is therefore not a separate person who merely shares Rowling’s publishing history; it is an established pen name used for her detective fiction.