Law firm leaked JK Rowling's alter ego as author of The Cuckoo's Calling

A BRITISH law firm says one of its partners inadvertently leaked the identity of J.K. Rowling as author of mystery novel The Cuckoo's Calling.

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A BRITISH law firm says one of its partners inadvertently leaked the identity of J.K. Rowling as author of mystery novel The Cuckoo's Calling.

The Sunday Times newspaper revealed over the weekend that the Harry Potter author had penned the book under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, after receiving a tip-off on Twitter.

There had been speculation that Rowling or her publisher were behind the revelation. Since Rowling was outed as the author, the novel has topped best-seller lists.

But law firm Russells said Thursday that one of its partners, Chris Gossage, had let the information slip to his wife's best friend, Judith Callegari - the woman behind the tweet. Her Twitter account has now been deleted.

Russells said in a statement that "we apologise unreservedly'' to Rowling.

It said that while Mr Gossage was culpable, "the disclosure was made in confidence to someone he trusted implicitly.''

Russells, a specialist in entertainment law, said it had informed Rowling and her agent once it learned what had happened.

"We can confirm that this leak was not part of any marketing plan and that neither J.K. Rowling, her agent nor publishers were in any way involved,'' the statement said.

The Cuckoo's Calling had garnered good reviews but sold in the hundreds of copies since being published in April. Since Rowling was outed as the author, it has topped best-seller lists, with publisher Little, Brown and Company commissioning a new printing of 300,000 copies.

Rowling said that "only a tiny number of people knew my pseudonym and it has not been pleasant to wonder for days how a woman whom I had never heard of prior to Sunday night could have found out something that many of my oldest friends did not know.''

"To say that I am disappointed is an understatement.

"I had assumed that I could expect total confidentiality from Russells, a reputable professional firm, and I feel very angry that my trust turned out to be misplaced.''