Jo Barnes

Jo was born in London and lived there all her life, teaching for many years in inner-city schools. She studied English at Leeds and had an extensive knowledge of children’s books, partly because she enjoyed reading them so much! She saw how children learned about themselves and the world through stories and this is a strong theme in her writing. Above all Jo knew that children wouldn’t read on unless a book was a page turner – they had to want to know what would happen next. Once she began to write herself, her talent was clear. Odd Fox Out was the first of Jo’s books to be published in 2023, followed by Wulf and the Power of Thorn in 2024.

Jo was diagnosed with ovarian and breast cancer in 2001, and it was later confirmed that she carried the BRCA1 gene. She received outstanding treatment, mostly from UCLH in London, but the disease gradually progressed and took a physical toll. Her writing, and her membership of a very active writing group, kept her positive for another 21 years.