JO HO
AWARD-WINNING SCREENWRITER,
AUTHOR & STORY CONSULTANT
Jo is an award-winning British-Chinese screenwriter, director, and author and the first East Asian person to have created a UK drama series CBBC’s most ambitious production in history, the action packed-fantasy, SPIRIT WARRIORS starring Jessica Henwick (THE MATRIX 4, KNIVES OUT 2: THE GLASS ONION) and Benedict Wong (DOCTOR STRANGE, MARCO POLO). The ground-breaking show was the UK’s first TV drama series to star a predominately East Asian cast.
In 2010, Jo was named Winner of the Women In Film and Television’s ‘NEW TALENT’ Award. She was also nominated for the Cultural Diversity Network's ‘BEST BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCTION TALENT’ Award, with Spirit Warriors in the running for ‘BEST CHILDREN'S PROGRAMME’ at the 2011 Broadcast Award’s. Jo was also named one of the Top Ten Outstanding Young Chinese People in the UK, and presented with the Big Ben Award for ‘OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY A CHINESE WOMAN IN THE UK FILM AND TELEVISION INDUSTRY’.
Known for her character-driven and high-concept work and her love of creating diverse female leads, Jo has developed a number of original and international television series including a medieval action-adventure for acclaimed producers Morgan O’Sullivan and James Flynn (VIKINGS, PENNY DREADFUL), an American supernatural YA drama for Rick Porras (THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy) and Gary Pearl (JANE THE VIRGIN), and an action fantasy drama for OSCAR nominated producer, Meta Louise Foldager Sorensen (A ROYAL AFFAIR, MELANCHOLIA). She also has several original screenplays in development including supernatural thriller, MONDAY'S CHILD, family fantasy, SKETCH, and a magical realism drama, funded by the BFI, with several television series currently being developed with producers and broadcasters.
Jo - an avid gamer who met her other half in a Destiny raid - also writes for video games and most recently worked for Ubisoft as a story consultant on an as-yet-unannounced AAA title.
In addition to writing, Jo also directs. Her first short film ISOLATION 9 won best film at the Buffalo San Film Festival. She followed this up with MONKEY NUT TALES which was chosen by Film London for their prestigious PULSE strand. The short film debuted at the Times BFI London Film Festival.
Jo suffers from MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities). Unfortunately, it is still not officially recognized in the UK despite the World Health Organisation listing it as a physical disability. There is currently no help for sufferers of MCS in the UK. Despite the wrench life has thrown at her, Jo started to write and publish books.
WANTED, Book 1 of The Chase Ryder Series is Jo's debut novel. With over 300 five-star reviews, it has been a best-seller in over 15 Young Adult categories on Amazon and won the YA Sci-fi category for the Readers' Favorite International Book Awards (2018).
Her second YA book series is Twisted, an urban fantasy serial featuring four troubled girls - including an Asian American and an African American lead character - who discover they now command some super dark powers. Written in a style similar to a US TV series, Jo has already released the first eleven books in the series. Jo is now working towards turning her book series into films and television series.
It is Jo’s goal to create stories that feature authentic diverse lead characters and to make a movie with cinematic genius, Roger A. Deakins.
Outside of her own work, Jo has helped many others with their projects and is currently a script consultant for the BFI. To learn about Jo's script consultancy work, CLICK HERE
Jo is a voting member of BAFTA and represented by Sarah Arnott and Eric Williams at Zero Gravity Management (US) and Matthew Dench at The Dench Arnold Agency (UK).
CLICK HERE to be taken to her agency page and to view a selection of her writing credits.