Rachel Joyce

Rachel Joyce was born in London 1962 and raised on an urban housing estate with her two younger sisters. Joyce wrote from an early age, viewing books and stories as a safe haven. At 14, she secretly sent a story to a publisher under a pseudonym. Joyce studied English at Bristol University, after which she held a variety of jobs before training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Joyce worked in the theatre business for 20 years, acting in lead roles with the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court, and many others. In addition to her acting career, Joyce has written plays for BBC Radio 4, including To Be a Pilgrim, which won the 2007 Tinniswood Award. Joyce expanded on this play to write her debut novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2012), which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won her the “New Writer of the Year” award from the UK National Book Awards. Since then, she has written numerous books, including The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy (2014) and Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North (2022), which are both continuations of Harold Fry’s story. Joyce lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, actor Paul Venables, and their four children.