The author of Chocolat – the 1999 book that became an Oscar-nominated film – has been added to the line-up for this year’s Rochdale Literature & Ideas Festival.
Our six-day festival in October 2016 will feature best-selling author, Joanne Harris MBE whose book Chocolat was made into the famous film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp.
Since then she has written 15 more novels, two collections of short stories and 3 cookbooks. Her books are published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards.
She’s an honorary Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, has honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of Sheffield and Huddersfield and has been a judge for the Whitbread Prize, the Orange Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science. In 2012 Joanne became one of only four female members of the ‘Millionaires’ Club,’ the elite group of authors who have achieved a million sales of one book in the UK since records began.
Born to an English father and French mother, Harris read Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge before following in her parents’ footsteps and becoming a French teacher, settling at Leeds Boys’ Grammar.
Her latest book –’Different Class’ published this year is the third in her series of novels set inside a school in the fictional town of Malbry – a twisty journey to the heart of a 24-year-old crime, as well as a darkly humorous look at the march of progress in a 500-year-old institution.
Last year she was a keynote speaker at Manchester Literature Festival.
Joanne joins the previously-announced festival guests; comedians Mark Steel and Jenny Eclair. The full programme is due to be announced next month.
It runs from Wednesday 19 to Monday 24 October 2016 and organisers Rochdale Borough Council are promising a double helping of arts for all ages.
