Jojo Moyes facts for kids

Jojo Moyes (born Pauline Sara Jo Moyes on August 4, 1969) is a famous English writer. She used to be a journalist, but since 2002, she has become a very successful author of romance novels. Many of her books have been bestsellers, even reaching number one on the New York Times list! She is also a screenwriter, meaning she helps turn her books into movies. Jojo Moyes is special because she has won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award twice. Her books are loved all over the world, translated into many languages, and have sold over 40 million copies!

Life Before Writing

Jojo Moyes was born in Maidstone, England, on August 4, 1969. Before she became a writer, she had many interesting jobs. She worked as a typist, writing statements in braille for people who are blind. She also wrote brochures for a travel company and even worked as a taxi dispatcher for a short time.

Jojo Moyes studied journalism at City University. She also earned a degree from Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, London University. She received a special scholarship from The Independent newspaper. This helped her study journalism even more. After her studies, she worked for The Independent for ten years. She even worked in Hong Kong for a year. By 2002, she was the newspaper's Arts and Media Correspondent.

Becoming a Writer

Jojo Moyes started her writing journey by creating three books. Sadly, all of them were turned down by publishers. With one child and another baby on the way, she decided to give it one last try. She told herself that if her fourth book was rejected, she would stop trying to be a novelist.

She sent the first three chapters of her fourth book to different publishers. This time, six publishers wanted to buy the rights to her book! This was a huge success. In 2002, her first book, Sheltering Rain, was published. From then on, Jojo Moyes became a full-time novelist. She still writes articles for The Daily Telegraph sometimes.

The Success of Me Before You

Jojo Moyes's publisher did not want to publish her 2012 novel, Me Before You. So, she sold it to another publisher, Penguin. This book became incredibly popular, selling six million copies! It reached number one in nine different countries. Because of its success, many of her older books also became bestsellers. At one point, three of her novels were on the New York Times bestseller list at the same time.

Jojo Moyes later wrote two more books that continued the story of Me Before You. These were After You, published in 2015, and Still Me, published in 2018.

Books on the Big Screen

In 2013, it was announced that Me Before You would be made into a movie. The film, also called Me Before You, was released in 2016. Jojo Moyes herself wrote the screenplay for the movie. This means she adapted her own book for the film!

Other books by Jojo Moyes have also been made into films. The Horse Dancer became a TV movie in 2020. The Last Letter from Your Lover was released as a film by Netflix in 2021.

Helping Others Read

In 2018, Jojo Moyes gave a lot of money to the Quick Reads Initiative. This project helps adults improve their reading skills. Her donation helped the program continue for three more years. She has also contributed short stories to the Quick Reads collection.

Awards and Achievements

• Jojo Moyes's books have been translated into 46 languages.
• Her books have reached the number one spot in 12 countries.
• She has sold over 40 million copies of her books worldwide.
• She won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2004 for Foreign Fruit.
• She won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award again in 2011 for The Last Letter From Your Lover. She is one of the few authors to win this award twice!
• Her books After You and Me Before You won Platinum and Gold Hall of Fame awards from Nielsen.
• Me Before You was on New York Times bestseller list for 19 weeks in 2016.
• Me Before You won an award from the American Library Association in 2014.
• Still Me won the Good Reads Best Fiction Award in 2018.
• Silver Bay won Book of The Year from Good Housekeeping in 2007.
• The Giver of Stars was shortlisted for the 2020 Fiction Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.
• The Me Before You film won the People's Choice Award for Favourite Dramatic Movie in 2017. It also won an ASCAP Award and a Golden Trailer Award.

Books Written

• Sheltering Rain (2002)
• Foreign Fruit (2003)
• The Peacock Emporium (2004)
• The Ship of Brides (2005)
• Silver Bay (2007)
• Night Music (2008)
• The Horse Dancer (2009)
• The Last Letter from Your Lover (2011)
• Me Before You (2012)
• Honeymoon in Paris (2012)
• The Girl You Left Behind (2012)
• The One Plus One (2014)
• After You (2015)
• Paris for One (2016)
• Still Me (2018)
• The Giver of Stars (2019)
• Someone Else's Shoes (2023)
• We All Live Here (2025)

What Inspires Jojo Moyes

When Jojo Moyes was a child, her favorite book was National Velvet by Enid Bagnold. She says that Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson made her want to become a better writer. She also gets ideas from authors like Nora Ephron, Marian Keyes, Lisa Jewell, Jonathan Tropper, and Jane Austen.

Personal Life

Jojo Moyes lives on a farm in Great Sampford, Essex, England. She lives there with her husband, Charles Arthur, who is also a journalist. They have three children together. She also has pets, including an ex-racehorse and a large Pyrenean mountain dog that she rescued.

Film Adaptations

• Me Before You (2016), a film directed by Thea Sharrock, based on the novel Me Before You.
• Im Schatten das Licht (2020), a TV-film directed by Vivian Naefe, based on the novel The Horse Dancer.
• The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021), a film directed by Augustine Frizzell, based on the novel The Last Letter from Your Lover, distributed by Netflix.

See also

In Spanish: Jojo Moyes para niños