Joanne Michèle Sylvie Harris (born 3 July 1964) is a British author, best known for her 1999 novel Chocolat, which was adapted into a film of the same name. Born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, of a French mother and a British father, she was a teacher of French for 15 years and had published three novels during this period before the surprise success of Chocolat enabled her to write full time. Since then, she has written over 30 books in several genres, including fantasy, psychological thriller, novellas, short stories and non-fiction. Harris’ books often feature themes of women’s empowerment, folklore, motherhood, community, outsiders and outcasts, and food.
Books in order of publication:
Gothic novels
The Evil Seed. Little, Brown. 1992.
Sleep, Pale Sister. Random House. 1994.
Chocolat series
Chocolat. Doubleday. 1999.
The Lollipop Shoes. Black Swan. 2007. (US title: The Girl With No Shadow, April 2008)
Peaches for Monsieur le Curé. Black Swan. 2012.
The Strawberry Thief. Orion. 2019.
Vianne. Orion. 2025.
Books set in France
Blackberry Wine. Black Swan. 2000.
Five Quarters of the Orange. Black Swan. 2001.
Coastliners. Black Swan. 2002.
Holy Fools. Black Swan. 2003.
Cookery books (with Fran Warde)
The French Kitchen. Doubleday. 2002.
The French Market. Doubleday. 2005.
The Little Book of Chocolat. Doubleday. 2014.
Short story collections
Jigs & Reels. Doubleday. 2004.
A Cat, a Hat, and a Piece of String. Doubleday. 2012.
Malbry series
Gentlemen and Players. Doubleday. 3 January 2006.
Different Class. Doubleday. 2016.
A Narrow Door. Orion. 2021.
Blueeyedboy. Doubleday. 2010.
Broken Light. Orion. 2023.
Rune series
Runemarks. Doubleday. 2008. (2007 in the UK, 2008 in the US) as Joanne M. Harris
Runelight. Gollancz. 2012. (September 2011 in the UK) as Joanne M. Harris
The Gospel of Loki. Gollancz. (February 2014), as Joanne M. Harris
The Testament of Loki. Gollancz. (2018) (as Joanne M. Harris)
Novellas
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Time Traveller. BBC Digital. Doctor Who novella.
A Pocketful of Crows. Gollancz. 30 October 2018. (2017) a folklore-inspired novella (as Joanne M. Harris), illustrated by Bonnie Hawkins.
The Blue Salt Road. Gollancz. 13 August 2019. ISBN 978-1473222212. (2018) (as Joanne M. Harris). Illustrated by Bonnie Hawkins.
Orfeia. Gollancz. (2020) (as Joanne M. Harris). Illustrated by Bonnie Hawkins.
On writing
Ten Things About Writing. September.
Fantasy and science fiction
Honeycomb. Gollancz.
Maiden, Mother, Crone. Gollancz. 13 February 2024.
The Moonlight Market. Hachette. 2024.
Oak Lawn Library Friends 