Joyce Efia Harmer was born in London. She has a BA in English Language and Literature from King's College London. Joyce has taught English in Italy and Australia and more recently in a busy London comprehensive. Joyce was selected as one of six to take part in the Megaphone Writers' Scheme to support diverse voices in literature, and was selected as a finalist in Penguin's WriteNow scheme. Joyce Efia’s debut novel How Far We’ve Come was first published in May 2023 to wide critical acclaim. Her second novel, Letters to Kweku, will be published in October 2026.
She lives in London with her family and dog. When Joyce is not writing or reading the latest blockbuster, she can be found singing with her band The Shoreless Sea.
Awards
Young Quills
Shortlist 2024
Branford Boase Award
Longlist 2024
Diverse Book Awards
Longlist 2024
The Red Book Awards
Shortlist 2025
Trinity Schools Award
Shortlist 2026
Press
The Sunday Times
REVIEW | CHILDREN’S
The best time-travel stories for children
Also making time travel more than just an excuse to drop into history, Joyce Efia Harmer’s exceptional How Far We’ve Come (Simon & Schuster £8.99 14+) asks a big question. Would a plantation slave still identify racial injustice in our society? This is the gripping and touching narrative, in dialect, of 17-year-old Obah, who is enslaved in Barbados in 1834 but meets a modern boy who takes her home with him to the 21st century. The experience is revelatory for characters and readers. And there is a poignant choice to be made.
