Joanne Harris interviewed Nick Higham

International bestselling novelist Joanne Harris looks back on her writing life on the 25th anniversary of the publication of her most well-known novel, Chocolat.

The 1999 novel was the first of a series of four novels following the life of Vianne Rocher and her fellow villagers in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. The others are The Lollipop Shoes, Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé and The Strawberry Thief. Chocolat sold more than a million copies and was turned into an Oscar-nominated movie starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. Harris was a teacher for 15 years before turning to full-time writing. Her other work includes fantasy novels based on Norse myth, Runemarks, Runelight and The Gospel of Loki, and a series of dark psychological thrillers, including Different Class.

Her latest book is a thriller, Broken Light, the story of a woman who reawakens a talent that almost destroyed her during her teenage years. Bernie Moon is approaching 50 and going through the menopause. She has given her life to her husband, her son and her friends. Now she is fading fast and feels like she’s losing her mind. The murder of a young woman in a park sparks childhood memories and a talent that has lain dormant for years. Now that she is older, could the power that almost destroyed her as a teenager be the thing that she’s been missing?

Harris has written 20 novels, several screenplays, a stage musical and three cookbooks. She has been a judge on the Whitbread Prize, the Orange Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Betty Trask Award. Harris is a passionate advocate for authors’ rights and is chair of the Society of Authors. She is an honorary fellow of Oxford Literary Festival. Here she talks to journalist Nick Higham, who was the BBC’s first ever media correspondent and is a former presenter of Meet the Author on the BBC news channel.