Which Harvard event did J.K. Rowling address in 2008?

J.K. Rowling addressed Harvard Commencement in 2008.

She delivered the commencement address at Harvard University on 5 June 2008. The speech was titled “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” and it discussed how failure can strip away inessential choices while imagination can help people empathize with others.

The address was later published as Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination. The illustrated edition appeared in 2015, with proceeds benefiting charitable causes associated with Harvard and Rowling’s Lumos foundation.

Harvard Commencement is the university’s main annual graduation ceremony, so the event is not the same as an ordinary lecture or a guest appearance at a student society. Rowling’s speech became widely quoted because it connected her early career setbacks with broader ideas about resilience and social responsibility.