“Having written a Quick Reads myself and spoken to readers who had benefited from the scheme, I knew how important it was," Moyes told The Bookseller. She added that it is a "really effective low-cost method of improving the reading skills and enjoyment" of less confident readers. Penguin Random House UK Chair Baroness Gail Rebuck, who founded Quick Reads, commented, “I have enormous gratitude towards Jojo. You can see in all her books her faith in the human spirit and how invested she is in humanity, which is reflected in this decision. I hope she will bring fresh insight to the campaign over the next three years.” Currently run by The Reading Agency, Quick Reads was set to close after it had been unable to secure a new long-term sponsor to cover its operating costs. Reading Agency chief executive Sue Wilkinson told The Guardian: "We couldn't be more thankful to Jojo for recognizing the importance of the scheme and so generously providing the funding to enable it to continue.” Moyes said, "My aim is to buy them a window, so we can put other long-term funding in place at the end of three years … it's a win for authors, it's a win for publishers and it's certainly a win for readers."

[caption id="attachment_111976" align="alignright" width="217"] Catherine Isaac, Credit: Deana Kay[/caption] “YOU ME EVERYTHING tackles a difficult and at times heartbreaking topic,” said Catherine Isaac, “but I aimed to write with a lightness of touch, to make readers laugh as well as cry, and ultimately deliver an uplifting message. It's set in the Dordogne in France, where I’ve vacationed since childhood, and I hoped to vividly recreate the sights, sounds and tastes of a region I adore. I’ve come to think of the book as a love story but in the widest definition of the term, because it explores relationships far beyond those of the two main characters, Jess and Adam. YOU ME EVERYTHING is my American debut but I’d been writing under a pseudonym for a decade in the UK before I wrote it. I feel immensely privileged that my writing is now being introduced to US readers and I’m hugely excited to see how it’s received.” [caption id="attachment_111975" align="alignleft" width="225"] Pam Dorman[/caption] Pam Dorman, VP & Publisher, Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, commented, “Catherine Issac was introduced to me by one of the agents I trust most—Sheila Crowley of Curtis Brown, Ltd., who also represents Jojo Moyes. While of course Moyes and Isaac each has her own voice, what attracted me to Isaac was both her ability to create very believable, very relatable characters, especially a mother and son whose relationship seemed utterly real and quite moving to me. In addition, though, I loved the humor with which she infused what could have been an exceptionally sad story. And the setting—the gorgeous French countryside in the Dordogne in the south of France—was pretty hard to resist! Catherine had written a number of other, more conventional books before both Sheila and I took her on, and she was very determined to write a book that was bigger and deeper than any she had written before. She absolutely succeeded—and we worked in conjunction with her long-time UK publisher, Suzanne Baboneau at S & S UK, to bring this book to its richest possible incarnation.” Fellow authors weigh in with words of praise : “Glass of chilled rosé, check. Comfy chair, check. Box of tissues, check. YOU ME EVERYTHING is everything you need for a moving, funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately joyous read. Set in one of the world’s most magical places, it’s a story that celebrates the power of love to overcome any fear. You’ll savor this one like an aperitif of socca and wine.” – Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Map of the Heart “What would you do for the child you love? You Me Everything takes a raw and honest look at one mother’s struggle to forge the best future for her son. A fractured family and a summer in the beautiful French countryside come alive in Catherine Isaac’s capable hands.” – Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours “Wow. Just Wow. If you liked Me Before You, you’ll love YOU ME EVERYTHING. Heartbreakingly beautiful.” – Clare Mackintosh, New York Times bestselling author of I Let You Go

First Novel Gail Honeyman for ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE  (Pamela Dorman Books/Viking) Biography Rebecca Stott for IN THE DAYS OF RAIN  (Spiegel & Grau) Congratulations to our authors as well as their editors and publishers. View the complete list of Costa Book Awards winners here. All category winners receive £5,000 (about $6,800) and are eligible for the £30,000 (about $40,795) Costa Book of the Year prize, which will be announced on January 30 in London.

Jojo Moyes is a bestselling novelist and a journalist. Her previous novels have all been met with critical acclaim and bestselling sales, including Me Before You, After You, The Girl You Left Behind and One Plus One. [caption id="attachment_5409" align="alignright" width="220"] Jojo Moyes, © Stine Heilmann[/caption] Jojo Moyes’ profile is at an all-time high with worldwide sales of Me Before You and After You at nearly seventeen million copies. Last year’s film adaptation of Me Before You, starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin, introduced legions of new fans to Jojo’s writing and the beloved character of Louisa Clark. Her works are available in a staggering 43 foreign languages and have sold twenty-nine million copies in total worldwide. Jojo Moyes said, “I always knew that once I committed to write the sequel to Me Before You, I would also write a third book; I saw it quite clearly as a trilogy. Revisiting Lou has been a joy, as I push her into a completely new country, a brand new world, and a house full of secrets. With her usual blend of humour and emotion she has to ask herself some pretty fundamental questions – not least, which side of the Atlantic does she really belong? I hope readers enjoy this new adventure as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.” Pamela Dorman, Publisher of Pamela Dorman Books, said, “Any new Jojo Moyes novel is a cause for rejoicing.  But for readers in America, the chance to have the iconic Lou Clark come to New York to find a new life is a particular pleasure.  There’s no doubt that Jojo’s unique blend of great storytelling and unforgettable characters, combined with a sense of humor all her own will make this new Lou Clark novel one readers will be clamoring for come next year.” Jojo Moyes is a UK based author who worked at the Independent for ten years before leaving to write full-time. She lives in Essex with her husband and their three children. Jojo is managed by Curtis Brown and her agent Sheila Crowley.

wives, one husband, and how that triangle came to be. Jane’s storytelling is complex and takes many unexpected turns – which is why this is a domestic thriller that stood head and shoulders above the pack for me.” [caption id="attachment_4890" align="alignright" width="270"] Jane Corry[/caption] Ms. Corry offers personal insights into the writing of MY HUSBAND’S WIFE, her perspective on the editorial process, and working with Ms. Dorman: “I’d like to start by saying that I couldn’t have written this novel without having been married (twice) and having gone to prison! I must also add quickly that I didn’t go to prison as an inmate but as a writer in residence of a high-security male prison in the UK. My brief was to help men write novels, poems, letters, articles or anything that would help them voice their feelings. Research has shown that this therapeutic approach can help reduce the risk of reoffending. “This was very rewarding. But there was an unexpected bonus too. My experience gave me a different writer’s voice. Until then, I’d been concentrating on romance. However, I’d always been interested in stories with twists and turns. My prison experience allowed me to create a character (Joe) who was a criminal but who wasn’t all bad. I also wanted to write about the relationship between first and second wives. People often assume that the two don’t like each other. But what if the second wife had to ask the first wife a very big favor? And so the plot was born in my head. “Thanks to my journalist background, I write fast. When I wrote MY HUSBAND’S WIFE, I was at my desk immediately after breakfast where I wrote between 2,000 and 3,000 words in a morning. The following day, I re-read those words, did a slight edit to get into the right mind zone and went onto the next chapter. At the end, I went back to the beginning and deepened the characters because by then I knew them better. I also made sure the plot hung together; checked timelines; and added setting and senses. It was a very intense process which took about five months from start to finish. “MY HUSBAND’S WIFE was published in the UK first where it was a Sunday Times bestseller (it reached Number 5 in the charts!). By then, it had been edited by my wonderful UK Penguin editor, Katy Loftus. When I found out that Pamela Dorman was to be my US editor, I was thrilled. Pam has such a brilliant reputation so it was a real honor. She and her assistant Jeramie Orton were extremely friendly from the start as well as being professional. They explained that they would send me various questions on the copy once they’d gone through it. “Interestingly, many of the questions related to different interpretations of the British language! For example, I said that one of my characters ‘twigged’ something. This meant that she suddenly realized a certain fact. But this phrase might not be understood by American readers so I was asked to find a substitute! “I was very impressed with Pam and Jeramie’s thoroughness. I was also touched by the fact that they clearly saw my characters as real people – just as I did! In my view, an editor needs to have that good overall eye but at the same time, understand how the cast ‘ticks.’ I certainly found those qualities in Pamela Dorman Books.”