What was J.K. Rowling’s pen name when she published The Cuckoo’s Calling?

J.K. Rowling published The Cuckoo’s Calling under the pen name Robert Galbraith. The crime novel appeared in April 2013 and introduced private detective Cormoran Strike.

The book follows Strike as he investigates the death of model Lula Landry in London. Robin Ellacott joins his office as a temporary secretary and becomes an important character in the continuing series.

At first, the book was presented as the work of a previously unknown former military police investigator. The pseudonym allowed Rowling to write adult crime fiction without the immediate commercial expectations attached to her Harry Potter fame. Her identity was exposed by a linguistic analysis and a newspaper report several months after publication.

Once the authorship became known, sales rose dramatically. The later Strike books continued to use Robert Galbraith as the cover author name, so “Robert Galbraith” is both a pseudonym and the established branding of the series.