Jojo Moyes named ambassador for London Book & Screen Week

Novelist and screenwriter Jojo Moyes has been named as ambassador for London Book & Screen Week as the festival returns for 2018.

Taking place between 9th and 15th April, the week will see a celebration of books and the films, TV programmes and virtual worlds they inspire.

Moyes will champion a specially curated programme of events for this year’s festival, which is set to mark some of 2018’s biggest anniversaries including the centenary of the women’s vote and the end of World War One, as well as celebrating the enduring popularity of some of the UK’s most iconic writers including Mary Shelley and Agatha Christie.

Moyes worked as a journalist for 10 years and has been a full time novelist since 2002, when her first book, Sheltering Rain (Hodder) was published. Since then she has written a further eleven novels. She has won the Romantic Novelist’s Award twice, and Me Before You (Michael Joseph) was nominated for Book of the Year at the UK Galaxy Book Awards. Moyes wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Me Before You starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke.

Moyes takes up the baton from David Nicholls, the festival’s first ambassador in 2017, who oversaw a week of events that included a special Harry Potter film screening at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and a performance of "Austentatious" at Leicester Square Theatre.

Moyes said she was "delighted" to be taking the role of ambassador and praised the television and film industries for their increasing recognition of the importance of books as source material and the role that authors can play in their adaptations.

She said: "There are few pleasures greater than watching a well-done adaptation of a favourite book - this year alone I can think of 'Big Little Lies', 'The Handmaid’s Tale' and 'Howard’s End', and in film 'Wonder', 'My Cousin Rachel', 'Call Me By Your Name' all of which have gained both popular and critical approval. I look forward to hearing about the ways in which these complimentary mediums enrich our lives and give escapism and pleasure to audiences and readers, from creators, businesspeople and all those taking part in the festival.”

The festival is produced by the London Book Fair, which takes place from 10th to 12th April 2018.

LBF director Jacks Thomas said: “Books are the inspiration for so much of the global entertainment industry whether films, games, apps or TV series. With London in the international spotlight as the global publishing industry turns its attention to The London Book Fair, what better way to recognise the value of books than this week-long festival that brings together authors, professionals and audiences alike to celebrate the many ways literature enriches our lives. Following the extraordinary success of Me Before You- one of the great British success stories of book to screen- we are delighted to welcome Jojo Moyes as our Ambassador for 2018.”