Jo Marchant

Jo Marchant is an author and journalist based in London. Her books tackle the story of humanity, from the wonders of ancient civilisations to the mysteries of our bodies and brains. Her upcoming book, The Human Cosmos (to be published in September 2020), tells the story of our intimate relationship with the night sky and the universe beyond.

Jo’s most recent book, the 2016 New York Times bestseller Cure: a journey into the science of mind over body, was shortlisted for the Royal Society science book prize, longlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize and named a book of the year by The Economist and The Sunday Times. Jo’s other books are The Shadow King: The bizarre afterlife of King Tut’s mummy (2013) and Decoding the Heavens: Solving the mystery of the world’s first computer (2009), which was also shortlisted for the Royal Society science book prize.

Jo trained as a scientist: she has a PhD in genetics and medical microbiology from St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College in London, and an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College London. She previously worked as a senior editor at New Scientist and at Nature, and her articles have appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and Smithsonian magazine.

Her radio and TV appearances include BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week and Today programmes, NPR’s Fresh Air, CNN and National Geographic. She has captivated audiences around the world, including at the World Science Festival in New York, the Royal Institution in London, Hay Festival, Edinburgh Science Festival, the Emirates Literature Festival in Dubai and the Dutch-Flemish Institute in Cairo.