As you can see, it’s going to be a busy month! I’ll be talking about Vianne, VIANNE, chocolate and CHOCOLAT; I’ll be doing readings, scenting books; I’ll be handing out bookmarks and merch, and generally celebrating 26 years of literature’s favourite chocolatiere.

Is there an event near you? Everybody welcome…

Ticket details here.

Meanwhile, to get you in the mood, here’s a list of great books about food.

Bon appétit!

6 Great Books About Food

1. THE DEBT TO PLEASURE: John Lanchester: (A wickedly clever memoir of food, cooking, childhood and murder, with one of the most unreliable narrators in fiction.)
2. THE RESTAURANT OF LOST RECIPES: Hisashi Kashiwai (A a father and daughter run a Kyoto restaurant where they recreate meals from their customers’ memories. Quirky, touching and filled with wonderful recipes.)
3. THE MISTRESS OF SPICES:  Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Tilo, a young woman from another time with a gift for the mystical art of spices. Now immortal, and living as an old woman, Tilo has set up shop in Oakland, California, where she administers curatives to her customers. But when she is surprised by an unexpected romance with a handsome stranger, she must choose between immortality and the perils of modern life.)
4. LA CUCINA: Lily Prior. (Rosa Fiore is a middle-aged librarian who has resigned herself to a loveless life, and expresses her passionate nature through her cooking. Then, she meets an enigmatic chef, known as l’Inglese, whose research on Sicilian cuisine leads him into Rosa’s library and into her heart.)
5. THE VEGETARIAN: Han Kang. (The disquieting story of Yeong-hye, whose decision to stop eating meat after a nightmare about human cruelty leads to devastating consequences in her personal and familial life.)
6. PIGLET: Lottie Hazell. (Terrific food writing; marvellous characterization; and wonderful insight into the heart of emotional eating.)

You all know how I feel about scent.

Well, a couple of weeks ago I went to see perfumer Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesdays to help create a bespoke scent to illustrate the new book. I had a wonderful time in Sarah’s lab, trying different scents and raw materials, talking about the background to the book; the location (Marseille in late summer and autumn) and the pictures I wanted the scent to paint. The result is called VIANNE’S CONFESSION: part chocolaterie, part confessional, with all the darkness and light of the Old Quarter of Marseille, with its steep little cobbled streets, its planters of geraniums, and the basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde, sheltering the city.

I’ll use the scent to spritz books, scent bookmarks and hopefully, explore in readings. You’ll be able to try it too: it’s launching on May 22nd, the same day as the book. And here’s a secret discount code – Vianne – to get £25 off an advance order for the first batch!

Here’s Sarah in her lab, talking you through the process of building a scent from scratch…

And here’s a link to pre-order a signed copy of the book from a series of indie bookshops…

ORDER YOUR SIGNED COPIES FROM THE FOLLOWING INDIES…

How it started….

How it’s going…

On the evening of July 4^th, a young woman scatters her mother’s ashes in New York and follows the call of the changing winds to the French coastal city of Marseille.

For the first time in her life, Vianne feels in control of her future. Charming her way into a job as a waitress, she tries to fit in, make friends, and come to terms with her pregnancy, knowing that by the time her child is born, the turning wind will have changed once again.

As she discovers the joy of cooking for the very first time, making local recipes her own with the addition of bittersweet chocolate spices, she learns that this humble magic has the power to unlock secrets.

And yet her gift comes at a price. And Vianne has a secret of her own; a secret that threatens everything…

Out on May 22nd, 2025.

Read more about it here!

Faith and Hope and the Christmas Spirit

Remember Faith and Hope, the two indomitable ladies of the Meadowbank Retirement Home? Well, I have good news for their many fans: there’s a brand new, exclusive Faith and Hope Story out right now in December’s edition of GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. It’s called FAITH AND HOPE AND THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT, and I wrote it just for you…

Special offers

And there are three special offers on Amazon UK this month: THE STRAWBERRY THIEF, A NARROW DOOR and THE LOLLIPOP SHOES are all priced at just 99p until the end of the month, so get clicking!

And this…

A lovely endorsement of THE MOONLIGHT MARKET from the wonderful Maggie Aderin-Pocock, which absolutely made my day...

Finally, MAIDEN, MOTHER, CRONE  is out in paperback – and just in time for Hallowe’en, the natural home of these dark and magical stories.

It’s a bumper collection of my three novellas, A POCKETFUL OF CROWS, THE BLUE SALT ROAD and ORFEIA, plus some brand-new, unpublished short stories, and all of Bonnie’s amazing illustrations. Treat yourself, or a loved one. Best enjoyed with a cup of mulled wine, spiced cider or chocolate…

Buy it here!

Here’s something nice for September – CHOCOLAT on Kindle UK, for just 99p till the end of the month!

Buy it here!

What a pleasure it is to finally welcome THE MOONLIGHT MARKET into the world!

And here we were this week, launching the new book at the lovely Word on the Water in King’s Cross. With many thanks to everyone who was there, and for Hire-a-Dancer for providing  the butterflies….

Urban moths have evolved to blend in with a world of concrete and stone, rather than a woodland environment.

What if fairies did the same?

Have you ever felt as if you were not quite a part of this world? As if the reality you knew were only a shadow of something else, waiting to reveal itself, like a photographic negative? Have you ever been in love – a love beyond doubt, beyond question? A love that feels impossibly old, though her face is that of a stranger?

Coming on July 2nd. Pre-order it here!

Or order an exclusive signed copy from an independent bookshop near you…

And to celebrate the launch of the new book, here’s BROKEN LIGHT for just 99p on Kindle UK for the rest of the month!

BROKEN LIGHT is out in paperback!

Buy it here!

25th Anniversary of CHOCOLAT

Would you believe it, CHOCOLAT celebrates its 25th anniversary this month! And to mark the occasion, Penguin are re-releasing the books with these gorgeous new covers…

And to mark the celebrations, BLACKBERRY WINE will be on special offer on Kindle UK for just 99p until the end of March!

And, coming soon…

THE MOONLIGHT MARKET

Have you ever felt as if you were not quite a part of this world? As if the reality you knew were only a shadow of something else, waiting to reveal itself, like a photographic negative? Have you ever been in love – a love beyond doubt, beyond question? A love that feels impossibly old, though her face is that of a stranger?

Out July 2024.

Pre-order it here!

Coming out in paperback in March!

Imagine if Carrie White had suppressed her paranormal abilities.

Imagine if she’d lived a normal life: a house, with a husband, a son, a job in an indie bookshop. Not a very happy life, but a normal, boring, suburban life in a busy part of London. 

Now imagine if her powers emerged, not with puberty, but with – MENOPAUSE…

“Bold, brave and timely.” (Sarah Pinborough)

Order it here…

E-BOOK ON SALE FOR JUST 99P ON KOBO AND KINDLE THIS MONTH!

In folk tales and ballads, as well as in life, women are often given roles that enable the hero’s journey, without having a journey of their own. The three stages of womanhood – maiden, mother and crone – are all viewed through the lens of what a woman can offer to men. The Maiden is either the hero’s reward, or the monster’s victim – both roles are dependent on her virtue and her desirability. The Mother (who can also take the role of the Wicked Stepmother) exists either to nurture her son, or send him into the wilderness; and the Crone (or her malignant double, the Witch), offers either wise advice, or a challenge to be met. In all three instances, the woman exists to serve the hero, to offer him what his story needs. Rarely do we hear the woman’s story, and even then, it’s a cautionary tale for women to guard their virtue, respect their husbands, obey their fathers, submit to men.

Not this time.

This omnibus edition of my three novellas comes with a new introduction from me, three new short stories set in my HONEYCOMB world, plus all Bonnie’s beautiful illustrations.

It’s out now, and look how gorgeous it would look under a loved one’s Christmas tree…

Order it here!

I’m not doing many official events around this new release, but if you’d like a signed, dedicated bookplate to put inside your copy, just buy me a coffee on ko-fi to pay for postage, and send your details to me at enquiries@joanne-harris.co.uk.

Or you could order a signed first edition from Goldsboro Books in London – and yes, they do ship abroad…

Here’s something nice for November, everyone: THE LOLLIPOP SHOES for just 99p on Kindle UK all this month…

Buy it here!

And here it is! The gorgeous omnibus edition of my three folk-inspired novellas, with a new intro by me, cover art by Sue Gent, glorious illustrations by Bonnie Helen Hawkins and THREE brand new short stories set in my HONEYCOMB world…

Comes out in November, but you can pre-order it here….

For all the audiobook fans out there, this month sees the release of not one, but FOUR new full-length audiobooks! 

All of them are narrated by me, and are released for the first time in their complete form. Check them out here on Audible!

FIVE QUARTERS OF THE ORANGE 

COASTLINERS

BLACKBERRY WINE

JIGS & REELS

Look at this beauty!

A lavish omnibus of my three novellas, A POCKETFUL OF CROWS, THE BLUE SALT ROAD and ORFEIA, with gorgeous illustrations from Bonnie, plus a new introductory chapter from me, and three brand-new short stories, all set in the HONEYCOMB universe…

On sale from November 2nd. Pre-order your copy here!

Right now, to celebrate the coldest, wettest summer we’ve had in decades, here’s a special offer on BROKEN LIGHT – here on Kindle UK for just 99p…

And here it is on Kobo, for the same ridiculous price.  Enjoy!

At last, I’m taking a little break, after over a months’ touring for the new book. Thank you so much to everyone who bought, borrowed or reviewed BROKEN LIGHT: your support means so much to me, as do your blog posts and comments. I’m more or less done with touring right now, with a few events still to go throughout the summer, but I’m adding to my schedule all the time, so keep watching my Events page if you’d like to attend one.

However, taking a break from touring doesn’t mean I’m stopping work altogether. Right now, I’m just finishing copy-editing a new fantasy novel for Gollancz, as well as putting together the new bumper edition of my three folklore-inspired novellas (including three new short stories and an introduction from me), which will be coming out in November.

Till then, here’s a little piece for the Telegraph about mermaids in folklore and literature. Read it here…

Thank you so much to everyone who helped the Bernie Moonwalkers reach their fundraising target – it was a great night, and we raised lots of money for breast cancer charities…