An Interview with Joanne Harris MBE
One of the delights of this year’s Yorkshire Festival of Story is world renowned, Yorkshire author Joanne Harris (best known for the award-winning novel Chocolat) who is not only a speaker at this year’s Yorkshire Festival of Story, but Festival guest director, too.
Joanne’s books are now published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards. She is 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, the Betty Trask Award, the Prima Donna Prize and the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science, as well as for the Fragrance Foundation awards for perfume and perfume journalism (for which she also received an award in 2017) .
She is a passionate advocate for authors’ rights, and is currently the Chair of the Society of Authors (SOA), and a member of the Board of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).
Harris was kind enough to answer some of my questions about her involvement in the festival, her creative process, and her advice for young, aspiring female writers.
How did you get involved with the Yorkshire Festival of Story?
I get lots of invitations to attend festivals. This time, Settle Stories wanted me to be the guest director of the Festival, and to help them find possible contributors. I was very happy to accept: I love the idea of a festival devoted entirely to storytelling – and I know a lot of storytellers!
What is the message your piece is hoping to send to viewers?
Many people assume that London is the centre of everything that happens in this country. They overlook the huge influence of Yorkshire and Yorkshire people in all areas of arts, culture and science. Our piece Breakfast with Yorkshire Women was designed to raise awareness of the lives of three inspirational Yorkshire women, and to demonstrate their influence not just on us personally, but on the world.
How have you managed in adapting your piece to an online audience?
I don’t think a panel discussion online is really that much different to one at a literary festival. All it takes is a little technical know-how.
Where do you usually find inspiration for your novels, and has that creative process changed in any way over lockdown?
I find my inspiration everywhere. Lockdown has slightly changed my approach, as I haven’t had the chance to interact with as many people, but on the whole writing is a solitary business, and I’m lucky enough to be able to work from home with no difficulty.
Do you have any advice for young female writers/creatives looking to start their careers?
Writing isn’t like other careers: in fact many writers never get to the stage where they can call it a career at all. My advice is: read omnivorously; be flexible; take advice; be patient, and most of all, enjoy what you do: if you don’t, it’s unlikely that anyone else will.
Find out more about Yorkshire Festival of Story here.
Written by Francesca Dunlop, Young Reporter.
