Jodi Picoult

Jodi Lynn Picoult (/ˈdʒoʊdi piːˈkoʊ/; born May 19, 1966) is an American author. She was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for fiction in 2003.^[1] Picoult currently has approximately 14 million copies of her books translated into 34 languages in print worldwide.^[2]

Early life

Picoult was born and raised in Nesconset on Long Island with her parents and one little brother.^[3] Her family moved to New Hampshire when she was 13 years old. She has described her family as "non-practicing Jewish".^[4] Picoult wrote her first story at age five, entitled "The Lobster Which Misunderstood". Picoult's mother and grandmother were both teachers and says that their influence on her was very important.^[3]

Education

She studied creative writing at Princeton University with Mary Morris, and graduated in 1987. 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, Jodi Picoult was selected to be Princeton's Class Day Speaker before their commencement.^[5]

Career

Picoult became the writer of DC Comics' Wonder Woman (vol. 3) series following the departure of Allan Heinberg.^[6][7] Her first issue (#6) was released on March 28, 2007, and her last was issue #10 released on June 27, 2007.

Nineteen Minutes, Picoult's novel about the aftermath of a school shooting in a small town, has become her first book to debut at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Her book Change of Heart was published on March 4, 2008, and became Picoult's second novel to debut at No. 1 on the NYT Best Seller list.^[8] Handle with Care in 2009 and House Rules in 2010 were also No. 1 on the NYT Best Seller List.

Advocacy

VIDA: Women in Literary Arts

In 2016, Jodi Picoult joined Vida: Women in Literary Arts advisory board.^[9] VIDA: Women in Literary Arts is 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".^[10] Picoult's website says that VIDA: Women in Literary Arts is a research-driven organization.

National Writing Project

Jodi Picoult was a member of the inaugural Writers Council for the National Writing Project in 2013,^[11] an organization which recognizes the "universality of writing as a communicative tool and helps teachers enhance student writing".^[12] This inaugural group consisted of 30 published authors.

Positive Tracks

Jodi Picoult was a spokesperson for Positive Tracks,^[13] which empowers young people to fundraise through the power of athletics and partners with other charitable organizations.

Children's Hospital at Dartmouth

In 2010, Jodi Picoult lead the 5th Annual Children's Hospital at Dartmouth Hero Half Marathon & Relay 5k Walk around Occum Pond and through the town of Hanover, New Hampshire.^[14]

New Hampshire Coalition Against the Death Penalty

Picoult is a member of the Advisory Committee for the New Hampshire Coalition Against the Death Penalty,^[15] an organization seeking to end the death penalty in the state of New Hampshire through outreach, education and advocacy.

Trumbull Hall Troupe

Jodi Picoult was the co-founder of the Trumbull Hall Troupe in 2004 with Marjorie Rose as a means of providing kids with a fun, educational theatre experience. The group of kids grade 6 through grade 12 audition to be in an original musical written by Picoult and composer Ellen Wilber and the proceed are donated to local charities.^[16] Trumbull Hall Troupe's contributions since founding have exceeded $120K.

2017 Women's March

On January 21, 2017, Jodi Picoult spoke at the New Hampshire Women's Day of Action and Unity in support of the Women's March on Washington.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Honors and Awards

• New England Bookseller Award for Fiction (2003) ^[21]
• Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association (2005) ^[22]
• Book Browse Diamond Award for novel of the year (2005) ^[23]
• Lifetime Achievement Award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America
• Cosmopolitan Magazine's 'Fearless Fiction' Award (2007) ^[24]
• Waterstone's Author of the Year (UK)
• Vermont Green Mountain Book Award (2007) ^[25]
• New Hampshire Granite State Book Award
• Virginia Reader's Choice Award (2007) ^[26]
• Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award (2006) ^[27]
• Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award (2007) ^[28]
• New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit (2013–14)

Personal life

She has been married to Timothy Warren Van Leer, whom she met while in college, since 1989.^[29] They and their three children, Samantha van Leer, Kyle van Leer, and Jake van Leer, and a handful of pets, live in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Recurring characters

• Jordan McAfee, his son Thomas, and his wife Selena are featured in The Pact (novel), Salem Falls and Nineteen Minutes.
• Patrick Ducharme, a detective, is featured in Perfect Match as well as Nineteen Minutes. She has stated that she brought Patrick's character back for a second novel because she has 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, is mentioned in Nineteen Minutes.
• Peter Houghton, a main character in Nineteen Minutes, is mentioned briefly in House Rules.

"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."^[30]

Bibliography

• Songs of the Humpback Whale (1992)
• Harvesting the Heart (1994)
• Picture Perfect (1995)
• Mercy (1996)
• The Pact (1998)
• Keeping Faith (1999)
• Plain Truth (2000)
• Salem Falls (2001)
• Perfect Match (2002)
• Second Glance (2003)
• My Sister's Keeper (2004)
• Vanishing Acts (2005)
• The Tenth Circle (2006)
• Nineteen Minutes (2007)
• Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #6–10 (cover date: late May 2007 – August 2007)
• Wonder Woman: Love and Murder (2007) (hardcover volume collecting Wonder Woman #6–10)
• Change of Heart (2008)
• Handle with Care (2009)^[31]
• House Rules (2010)^[32]
• Leaving Home: Short Pieces (2011)
• Sing You Home (2011)
• Between the Lines(2012)
• Lone Wolf (2012)
• The Storyteller (2013)
• Leaving Time (2014)
• Off the Page (2015)
• Small Great Things (2016)^[33]

Film and television adaptations

• The Pact (2002) (Lifetime Original Movie)
• Plain Truth (2004) (Lifetime Original Movie)
• The Tenth Circle (2008) (Lifetime Original Movie)
• My Sister's Keeper (2009) (Feature film)
• Salem Falls (2011) (Lifetime Original Movie)

References

• Jewish Chronicle, April 27, 2007 p. 50: "The Jodi Picoult mystery"

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Jodi Picoult

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jodi Picoult.

• Official website
• Jodi Picoult on IMDb