Joanna Hines
Novelist
About
Having always been a fiction writer, Joanna Hines (now writing as Joanna Hodgkin) has recently discovered the narrative pleasures of non-fiction, and that whether truth or imagination is the driver storytelling lies at the heart of both. She has written psychological thrillers as well as historical novels and they have been widely translated. Dora’s Room was chosen by WH Smith for its first Fresh Talent promotion and Improvising Carla was turned into a major drama for Granada television.
A change of direction came when she was invited to write an account of her mother’s marriage to Lawrence Durrell. Amateurs in Eden: the story of a bohemian marriage (Virago, 2012) was widely acclaimed and shortlisted for several awards. Her most recent book, Tell Me Who I Am: sometimes it’s safer not to know (Hodder, 2013) has been co-written with Alex and Marcus Lewis, and revolves around the same themes of family secrets, memory and identity that inspired her novels.
Joanna Hines lived for many years in Cornwall, the inspiration for her historical novels, but now lives in London. She has written occasional journalism and book reviews for, among others, the Guardian and the Literary Review. She has taught novel writing and worked as a mentor for novelists with the Writers’ Centre in Norwich.
