British author J.K. Rowling, best known for her Harry Potter books, received the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Prize in the Danish city of Odense on Tuesday, October 19, 2010.

The prize is given to a person who can be compared with Hans Christian Andersen, the famous Danish author who revolutionized the fairy tale genre in the 19th century.

Andersen, who was born in 1805, wrote some 160 fairy tales before he died in 1875. Andersen's fairy tales have been translated into more than 150 languages, and a theme park recently opened in Shanghai of China based on Andersen's life and fairy tales.

J.K. Rowling has also reached somewhat comparable stardom in literature. Rowling's authorship is primarily focused on the Harry Potter series, spanning seven books that chronicle the childhood and coming of age of the main character Harry Potter. The series, which takes part in an imaginary world with magic and dragons, has for a large part been influenced by the fantasy genre, a genre Andersen also used in his fairy tales.

Rowling's books have been translated into 67 languages and a theme park based on Harry Potter recently opened in Florida, the United States.

In her acceptance speech, Rowling underlined how great an honor it is for her, to be awarded the prize bearing Hans Christian Andersen's name.

"H.C. Andersen is the Shakespeare of children's literature. His way of telling stories is dominant today. My favorite fairy tale is the one about The Steadfast Tin Soldier," J.K. Rowling told the Danish daily Berlingske Tidende.