Jojo Moyes, writer episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 25, 2026 · 50 MIN

Jojo Moyes, writer

from Desert Island Discs · host BBC Radio 4

Jojo Moyes is a British novelist and screenwriter. She began her writing career as a journalist and worked at the Egham and Staines News, Independent and South China Morning Post. Whilst working nightshifts on the Independent, she pursued her novel writing ambitions and wrote books by day. Her first few books were well received but did not topple the best seller lists. That all changed in 2012 when her novel You Before Me was published. Readers fell in love with the story of Louisa Clark, who takes a job looking after an angry young quadriplegic man. The book sold fifteen million copies, was made into a film and Jojo wrote two sequels. Her novels are beloved of book clubs and have sold in excess of fifty seven million copies and have been translated into forty-six languages. Jojo lives in London.DISC ONE: Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Laughing Version) (Live) - Elvis Presley DISC TWO: Golden Slumbers - The Beatles DISC THREE: Silly Games - Janet Kay DISC FOUR: The Art Teacher - Rufus Wainwright DISC FIVE: Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore in C, K.339: 5. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes (Ps. 116/117) Composed by Mozart and performed by Edith Mathis (soprano), MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig (choir), Staatskapelle Dresden (orchestra), conducted by Peter Schreier DISC SIX: Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell DISC SEVEN: A Better Time to Meet - Adrianne Lenker & Buck Meek DISC EIGHT: Je L’Aime à Mourir - Francis Cabrel BOOK CHOICE: The complete works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky LUXURY ITEM: A mechanical horse CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Laughing Version - Live) - Elvis Presley Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah TaylorDesert Island Discs has cast many writers away to the island over the years including Helen Fielding, Marian Keyes and Dame Jilly Cooper. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Jojo Moyes is a British novelist and screenwriter. She began her writing career as a journalist and worked at the Egham and Staines News, Independent and South China Morning Post. Whilst working nightshifts on the Independent, she pursued her novel writing ambitions and wrote books by day. Her first few books were well received but did not topple the best seller lists. That all changed in 2012 when her novel You Before Me was published. Readers fell in love with the story of Louisa Clark, who takes a job looking after an angry young quadriplegic man. The book sold fifteen million copies, was made into a film and Jojo wrote two sequels. Her novels are beloved of book clubs and have sold in excess of fifty seven million copies and have been translated into forty-six languages. Jojo lives in London.DISC ONE: Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Laughing Version) (Live) - Elvis Presley DISC TWO: Golden Slumbers - The Beatles DISC THREE: Silly Games - Janet Kay DISC FOUR: The Art Teacher - Rufus Wainwright DISC FIVE: Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore in C, K.339: 5. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes (Ps. 116/117) Composed by Mozart and performed by Edith Mathis (soprano), MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig (choir), Staatskapelle Dresden (orchestra), conducted by Peter Schreier DISC SIX: Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell DISC SEVEN: A Better Time to Meet - Adrianne Lenker & Buck Meek DISC EIGHT: Je L’Aime à Mourir - Francis Cabrel BOOK CHOICE: The complete works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky LUXURY ITEM: A mechanical horse CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Laughing Version - Live) - Elvis Presley Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah TaylorDesert Island Discs has cast many writers away to the island over the years including Helen Fielding, Marian Keyes and Dame Jilly Cooper. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

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This episode was published on January 25, 2026.

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Jojo Moyes is a British novelist and screenwriter. She began her writing career as a journalist and worked at the Egham and Staines News, Independent and South China Morning Post. Whilst working nightshifts on the Independent, she pursued her...

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