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Joanna Cannon

Joanna Cannon was born in a small Derbyshire town, at the very edge of the Peak District National Park. As an only child of an only child, a great number of her friends lived within the pages of a book, and she soon discovered what would become a life-long fascination with words, stories and character.

Jo left school at fifteen with one O-level and worked her way through many different jobs: barmaid, kennel maid, pizza delivery expert, and although these experiences may not have felt useful at the time, they gave her a breadth of understanding about people which would later become invaluable.

Genres: Literary Fiction, General Fiction, Mystery

New and upcoming books

June 2026

An Unlikely Visitor

Novels

   The Trouble with Goats and Sheep (2016)
   Three Things About Elsie (2017)
   A Tidy Ending (2020)
   An Unlikely Visitor (2026)

Novellas and Short Stories

One Letter Different (2018)

Anthologies edited

Will You Read This, Please? (2023)

Non fiction show

Books containing stories by Joanna Cannon

Will You Read This, Please? (2023)
edited by
Joanna Cannon

I Am Heathcliff (2018)
Stories Inspired by Wuthering Heights
edited by
Kate Mosse

Award nominations

2017 British Book Award Debut Book of the Year (shortlist) : The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

Joanna Cannon recommends

American Hagwon (2026)
Min Jin Lee
"I adored this incredibly beautiful story ... exquisitely written, American Hagwon is an absolute joy that you will take with you for the rest of your life."

Three Mothers (2025)
Hannah Beckerman
"I loved it so much! It's such a huge page turner and the plotting is pin-point perfect. It's just wonderful. I love how the characters develop over the course of the story and it's a true one-more-chapter book. It's brilliantly written, utterly compelling and such a treat of a story."

This Bright Life (2025)
Karen Campbell
"I love this story so much. Karen writes with such a rare and deep understanding of people and every word of her stories earns its keep. This Bright Life is dark, moving and compassionate and, just like Paper Cup, it's a story filled with hope. I think that's what I love the most about Karen's writing: it makes you feel hopeful, like a handrail in the dark. I adore it."

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers (2024)
Samuel Burr
"Utterly beautiful, such a wonderful story told with kindness, elegance and understanding."

All Of Us Are Broken (2023)
(DS Saul Anguish, book 2)
Fiona Cummins
"Fiona Cummins writes a belter of a thriller. Such a powerful story and a gut punching final chapter."

In the Blink of an Eye (2023)
(Kat and Lock, book 1)
Jo Callaghan
"An absolute cracker of a thriller. Such an original concept and so brilliantly executed, but also a story to make you think, and one that throws up unexpected questions about life, grief, loss, and the human mind . . . If you love a police procedural, you'll adore this. If you like a book to make you think a little more deeply, you will also love this. As someone who is a fan of both, I can't recommend it enough."

Under the Same Stars (2022)
Alexandra Heminsley
"It's beautifully written, with such heart, and yet also with such incredible elegance. Not only did it make me cry, it made me see the world in a different way."

Just Got Real (2022)
Jane Fallon
"Your writing makes the world a brighter place, [Jane Fallon]. Just Got Real is an absolute joy."

Reptile Memoirs (2022)
Silje Ulstein
"A beautifully dark and twisty story with jaw-dropping twists and pin-point plotting."

Mother's Boy (2022)
Patrick Gale
"You know sometimes, from the very first page of a book, you feel so at home and so involved with the story, it's as if you've walked alongside the characters all your life? Mother's Boy is one of those books. A sign of an incredible storyteller."

Magpie (2021)
Elizabeth Day
"The most mind-blowing book of the year."

Still Life (2021)
Sarah Winman
"An utterly beautiful story, so generous, rich, deeply moving and filled with hope. Sarah Winman is a genius and one of the greatest storytellers of our time. I remember reading When God Was A Rabbit all those years ago and being in complete awe of her, thinking 'I wonder if I could do this too?', so Sarah Winman is why I write!"

One Last Time (2021)
Helga Flatland
"The most beautiful, elegant writing I've read in a long time. If you love Anne Tyler, you will adore this."

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot (2021)
Marianne Cronin
"Full of wisdom and kindness. It is just the kind of book I adore."

Girl A (2021)
Abigail Dean
"A work of utter genius."

The Resident (2020)
David Jackson
"A mind-blowing, head-rattling, whirlwind of a thriller."

A Theatre for Dreamers (2020)
Polly Samson
"Such a lyrical, elegant and beautifully told story."

Part of the Family (2019)
Charlotte Philby
"Dark and addictive and magnificent."

After the End (2019)
Clare Mackintosh
"One of the most moving stories I have ever read. It's perfect."

Things in Jars (2019)
Jess Kidd
"Jess Kidd's stories are so magical, she should be a genre all to herself ... Things in Jars is exquisite. Perfect storytelling."

The Pact We Made (2019)
Layla AlAmmar
"So cleverly crafted, it can't be a debut. But it is."

The Two Lives of Louis & Louise (2019)
Julie Cohen
"Louis & Louise is moving and beautiful, but it will also make you wonder and question, and it will stretch out your thinking so very beautifully."

The House on Vesper Sands (2018)
(Inspector Henry Cutter and Sergeant Gideon Bliss, book 1)
Paraic O'Donnell
"Clever and funny and exquisitely disturbing, an utter joy."

Days of Wonder (2018)
Keith Stuart
"So powerful, yet incredibly gentle and poignant. Utterly and completely beautiful."

Sal (2018)
Mick Kitson
"Just *wonderful*. A breath of fresh air in a book. Sal is a story with incredible heart, told so beautifully and with such clarity and grace I can hardly believe it's a debut! I loved it."

The Woman in the Window (2018)
A J Finn
"Amazing. What an elegant, beautifully written thriller. I loved Dr Fox from the word go, and the twists and turns were just exquisite. It's so rare to find a story so compelling, yet so gracefully told – the flair and class of Hitchcock on every page. It's quite a cliche, but I was genuinely walking around the house/answering the door/eating my meals with the book in my hand."

The Upstairs Room (2017)
Kate Murray-Browne
"An incredible read. Clever, chilling, I couldn't put it down."

The Night Visitor (2017)
Lucy Atkins
"Elegant, clever, beautifully written . . . Lucy Atkins is, quite frankly, a genius."

The Last of Us (2016)
Rob Ewing
"A story about the strength and fragility of human nature. Rob Ewing's writing is powerful, compassionate and brilliant. I absolutely loved it."

Before the Fall (2014)
Juliet West
"My favourite Great War novel . . . Incredible writing."

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