Rachel Joyce (born 1962) is a British writer. She has written plays for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, and jointly won the 2007 Tinniswood Award for her radio play ''To Be a Pilgrim''. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, ''

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ''The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'' is a novel by Rachel Joyce, published in 2012. Joyce's first novel, it was longlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize,Wakin, Daniel J. (25 July 2012). AshantMan Booker Prize Finalists Announced ''The Ne ...

'', was on the longlist for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, and in December 2012 she was awarded the "New Writer of the Year" award by the

National Book Awards The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

for this book. She had an earlier career as an actress, ''Includes two photographs of Joyce, playing Celia in ''As You Like It'' and has said that between her first writing ambitions aged 14 and the writing of her first novel she was "a young woman, a mother, an actress, a writer of radio drama - not to mention a terrible waitress in a wine bar, a door-to-door sales girl for one morning, and an assistant in a souvenir shop". She is married to actor Paul Venables, and lives in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

with her husband and four children. She is the sister of actress

Emily Joyce Emily Sian Joyce is an English actress, known for playing the role of Janet Dawkins in the BBC comedy series '' My Hero'' between 2000 and 2006. Career After drama school, Joyce joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her first television role ...

Books

*''

'' (2012, Doubleday: ) *''Perfect'' (2013, Doubleday: ) *''The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy'' (2014, Doubleday: ) *''A Snow Garden and Other Stories'' (2015, Doubleday: ) *''The Music Shop'' (2017, Doubleday: ) *''Miss Benson's Beetle'' (11 June 2020, Penguin: ) *''Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North'' (20 October 2022, Doubleday: )

Theatre

* ''The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'' (book of stage musical, based on the novel) - due to open in May 2025 at Minerva Theatre, Chichester

Awards

* Tinniswood Award, 2007 (joint award), for ''To Be A Pilgrim''
French Literary Award
("Prix Littéraire des Jeunes Européens, 2014 France) for ''The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'' *Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, 2021, for ''Miss Benson's Beetle''

Reference List

External links

Official Website
*
Video interview published by Random House publishers
* Living people 1962 births British women novelists 21st-century British novelists 21st-century British women writers British women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights Writers from London {{UK-novelist-stub