Jo Spain on Never to Be Found, Jōhatsu & the Japanese Art of Vanishing

Philippa sits down with the brilliant Jo Spain — 13 bestselling thrillers already published, translated into 17 languages, TV writer and producer — to talk about her extraordinary new novel Never to Be Found, which sparked a bidding war from some of the biggest names in television before it was even published.🎙️ Jo Spain on Never to Be FoundIn Japan, up to 100,000 people every year voluntarily evaporate from their lives — a phenomenon known as jōhatsu. Entire industries exist to help them do it, providing new identities, documents, and a clean start. Veronica Paige has brought this concept to Britain, running a business disappearing people — until she discovers she's helped a murderer vanish.Jo and Philippa discuss:How a lunchtime article led to the entire concept of the book — and why Jo raced to write it before anyone else couldThe once-in-a-career bidding war: Sam Mendes' production company, Amazon MGM, and The Walking Deadshowrunner Angela Kang all in pursuit of the same bookWhy Jo always writes books for the love of them and scripts for the money — and why those two things are entirely separateThe three categories people fall into when they hear about jōhatsu: those who want to vanish, those horrified by abandonment, and those who think they'd be brilliant at making people disappearHow Veronica justifies what she does — and the moral question at the heart of the bookWhy layers matter more than first drafts, and what it looks like from the outside when Jo is deep in the editing stageHer dream writing location: the coast path between Moville and Greencastle in Donegal — where the Wi-Fi barely works and the day takes its timeHer nightmare: a writer's room, surrounded by other writers, expected to create on demandThe pressure of reader expectations for twists — and why she's made peace with the fact that she can't please everyoneBookTok: how she joined to keep an eye on her children and ended up addicted, embarrassing them daily, and discovering her last three books thereWhat she's reading: The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, the latest Jane Harper, and London Falling by Patrick Radden KeefeBiscuit answer: A committed biscuit addict who has written an entire novel powered by ginger nuts. Current favourite: shortcake with sultanas, dunked, and firmly classified as healthy eating.💬 Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | [email protected] Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.