Jodi Picoult


Jodi Lynn Picoult is an American writer. Picoult has published 28 novels and short stories, and has also written several issues of Wonder Woman. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide and have been translated into 34 languages. In 2003, she was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for fiction.
Picoult writes popular fiction which can be characterized as family saga, frequently centering story lines on moral dilemmas or procedural dramas which pit family members against one another. Over her writing career, Picoult has covered a wide range of controversial or moral issues, including abortion, the Holocaust, assisted suicide, race relations, eugenics, LGBT rights, fertility issues, religion, the death penalty, and school shootings. Picoult herself does not identify as a critically successful author, and has instead been described by Janet Maslin as "a solid, lively storyteller, even if she occasionally bogs down in lyrical turns of phrase."

Early life

Picoult was born in Nesconset, New York, on Long Island in 1966. She has one younger brother. She graduated from Smithtown High School East in June 1983. She has described her family as "non-practicing Jewish". Picoult wrote her first story at age five, titled "The Lobster Which Misunderstood". Picoult's mother and grandmother were both teachers, and she says that their influence on her was very important.

Education

Picoult studied creative writing at Princeton University with Mary Morris, and graduated in 1987 with an A.B. in English after completing a 320-page senior thesis titled "Developments." She published two short stories in Seventeen magazine while still in college. Immediately after graduation, she began a variety of jobs, ranging from editing textbooks to teaching eighth-grade English. She earned a master's degree in education from Harvard University.
Picoult has two honorary Doctor of Letters degrees: one from Dartmouth College in 2010, the other from the University of New Haven in 2012. In 2016, Picoult was selected to be Princeton's Class Day Speaker before commencement.

Career

Picoult became the writer of the DC Comics series Wonder Woman, following the departure of Allan Heinberg. Her first issue was released on March 28, 2007, and her last was issue number 10, released on June 27, 2007.
Nineteen Minutes, Picoult's novel about the aftermath of a school shooting in a small town, published on March 9, 2007, was her first book to debut at number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Her book Change of Heart, published on March 4, 2008, was her second novel to debut at number 1 on that list. Handle with Care in 2009 and House Rules in 2010 also reached number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Often categorized as a chick-lit author, a somewhat derisive label, Picoult has claimed to accept a lack of critical acclaim in exchange for popularity: "I'm never going to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, not going to win a National Book Award, never even going to be nominated. What you trade for that is sales and readership. And I would rather reach more people. It would be very nice to not be unfairly accused of being a bad writer, but hopefully if you do pick up one of my books, you will be quickly disabused of that notion."
In November 2019, Picoult participated in the criticism of Brooke Nelson, a college student who was mentioned in her local newspaper as saying she thought that author Sarah Dessen's YA novels were not suitable for the Common Read program run by Northern State University, Aberdeen, and had instead advocated for the inclusion of Just Mercy, a memoir by civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson. Picoult described Nelson's views as "sinister" and "demeaning to women", and encouraged her followers on Twitter to "fight the patriarchy" in response to Nelson's comments. When the story was reported in Jezebel, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Slate, Picoult posted an apology on Twitter, noting that her remarks had resulted in harassment and bullying of Nelson.
Her 2024 novel By Any Other Name is based on the premise that the poet Emilia Lanier was the actual author of several works credited to William Shakespeare. Picoult used the publication of the book to raise alternate theories of Shakespeare authorship, claiming "I think that, back then, people in theatre knew that William Shakespeare was a catch-all name for a lot of different types of authors". Picoult characterized Shakespeare's identity as a literary "in-joke" whose context was lost over time and argued that the widely accepted Stratfordian Shakespeare could not have written the proto-feminist characters that punctuate many of his works. The novel's premise was widely rejected by Shakespearean historians.

Advocacy

Representation in literary arts

Since 2013, Picoult has been member of the inaugural Writers Council of the National Writing Project, an organization that aims to provide professional development opportunities for writing teachers and expand opportunities for underrepresented youths to write and publish about topics important to them. Picoult is also a member of the advisory board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts, a "non-profit feminist organization committed to creating transparency around the lack of gender parity in the literary landscape and to amplifying historically marginalized voices, including people of color; writers with disabilities; and queer, trans and gender nonconforming individuals".

Bookbans

Throughout 2023, Picoult became an outspoken critic of the wave of book bannings across the United States, in particular in the state of Florida. In March of that year, 92 titles—20 of which were authored by Picoult—were removed from Florida's Martin County School District for review for potentially "inappropriate" content. Other banned titiles included works by Judy Blume, Toni Morrison, and Angie Thomas. In an op-ed, Picoult refuted the characterization of the books as "adult romance," adding "What do have, however, are issues like racism, abortion rights, gun control, gay rights, and other topics that encourage kids to think for themselves." During the summer of 2023, the Urbandale Community School District in Iowa applied a new law banning books with sex acts from school libraries to Picoult's Nineteen Minutes. The book, which focused on a school shooting, was one of 374 books considered by the district for removal. Nineteen Minutes was one of the most banned books during the 2023-2024 academic year, according to a report by PEN America. In 2024, Picoult worked with the organization on a series of book tour events, where speakers focused on the issue of library censorship and provided resource kits to attendees.

Trumbull Hall Troupe

In 2004, Picoult co-founded with Marjorie Rose, , to provide a fun, educational theatre experience for youths in the Upper Valley, while also raising money and awareness for organizations that serve children in need. In its early years, the troupe, composed of students in grades 6 through 12 selected through audition, performed original shows written by Picoult and composed by the troupe's former musical director Ellen Wilbur. Since 2016, the troupe has performed licensed musicals and donates 100 percent of net proceeds to its charities. While preparing for their annual fall show, troupe members run in CHAD Hero, an annual 5K race for Children's Hospital at Dartmouth, write to orphans in Zimbabwe through the Zienzele Foundation, and run theatre workshops for children at the Upper Valley Haven. In the decade since its founding, Trumbull Hall Troupe has raised more than $250,000 for its charities.

Honors and awards

Picoult is married to Timothy Warren van Leer, whom she met in college. They reside in Hanover, New Hampshire. They have three children and two grandchildren. Picoult has published two books with her daughter Samantha.

Recurring characters

  • Jordan McAfee, his son Thomas, and his wife, Selena, are featured in the novels The Pact, Salem Falls, Nineteen Minutes, and Mad Honey.
  • Detective Patrick Ducharme is featured in Perfect Match and Nineteen Minutes. Picoult has stated that she brought this character back for a second novel because she had a crush on him.
  • Ian Fletcher of Keeping Faith makes a brief appearance in Change of Heart, published in 2008.
  • Frankie Martine, first featured in Salem Falls, returns in Second Glance and Perfect Match.
  • Nina Frost, a main character in Perfect Match, makes a cameo in Nineteen Minutes.
  • Peter Houghton, a main character in Nineteen Minutes, is mentioned briefly in House Rules and Mad Honey.
Regarding recurring characters, Picoult once remarked, "It's always great fun to bring a character back, because you get to catch up on his/her life; and you don't have to reinvent the wheel—you already know how he speaks, acts, thinks."

Film and television adaptations

  • The Pact
  • Plain Truth
  • The Tenth Circle
  • My Sister's Keeper
  • ''Salem Falls''