Jo Furniss on How Her Background as a Journalist Has Influenced Her Fiction Writing

Bestselling fiction author Jo Furniss started out in journalism, first as a staff journalist for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), then as a freelance journalist. For almost 20 years, she focused solely on nonfiction writing. Life took her family to Switzerland where she decided to pursue a master’s degree in writing. Part way through the program she had to choose between focusing her degree on nonfiction or fiction. Wanting to challenge herself further, Furniss chose to pursue fiction writing. One of the pieces she wrote during the program ultimately became her bestselling, critically acclaimed debut novel All the Little Children. Furniss attributes her innate ability to communicate and effectively tell stories to her years of journalistic writing. The writing skills she developed as a journalist have translated well to fiction and her experiences in a deadline-driven environment have allowed her to see writing as a process.

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