Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult is an acclaimed American author known for her thought-provoking novels that often explore complex social issues. Born on May 19, 1966, in Nesconset, Long Island, she demonstrated a passion for writing from a young age, publishing her first short stories while still in her teens. Picoult graduated from Princeton University, where she also broke new ground as the first woman coxswain of a men's crew team. She later earned a master's degree in education from Harvard University. Her debut novel, "Songs of the Humpback Whale," laid the foundation for her career, characterized by intricate narratives and multiple perspectives.
Over the years, Picoult has tackled a wide range of serious topics, from spousal abuse and mercy killing to parental search and the impact of school shootings. Her works, which include bestsellers like "My Sister's Keeper" and "Nineteen Minutes," are frequently chosen for book clubs and have garnered various awards for their compelling storytelling. In recent years, Picoult has been vocal against book banning, particularly in Florida, where many of her titles were challenged. Her most recent novel, "By Any Other Name," delves into the lives of two women across time, further showcasing her ability to weave complex narratives. Through her writing, Picoult aims to shed light on diverse human experiences and cultural norms, often inviting readers to reflect on their values and beliefs.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Jodi Picoult
Author
- Born: May 19, 1966
- Place of Birth: Nesconset, New York
Biography
Jodi Lynn Picoult was born on May 19, 1966, the daughter of Myron Michel Picoult, a securities analyst on Wall Street, and Jan Ellen Friend Picoult, a nursery school director. She grew up in Nesconset, Long Island. She had one younger brother, Jonathan Paul Picoult. As a child, Picoult often wrote stories. In February 1987, Picoult’s short story “Keeping Count,” appeared in Seventeen magazine, which published another of her stories in the August 1987 issue.
By the time she enrolled at Princeton University, Picoult knew she wanted to be a writer. While there, she studied creative writing with Mary Morris and Robert Stone. Her university life consisted of more than just academics. Picoult was the first woman to serve as coxswain of a men’s crew team. She went on to receive her bachelor's degree in 1987. On November 18, 1989, she married Timothy Warren van Leer, one of the young men on the crew team. They went on to have three children together.
After graduation, Picoult went to work in New York City for a short time as a technical writer for a Wall Street brokerage firm. From 1987 to 1988, she was an editor for the textbook publisher Alleyn and Bacon, and for a brief time she was an ad agency copywriter. From 1989 to 1991, she taught creative writing at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts. Meanwhile, she enrolled at Harvard University where she received a master's of education in 1990.
While she was pregnant with her first child, Picoult wrote her first novel, Songs of the Humpback Whale: A Novel in Five Voices. This was a story about relationships told by five narrators. Her later novels would also be structurally complex, however, no two are alike. For example, some are realistic fiction, while others are psychological studies, romances, or ghost stories. The settings also vary. As Picoult was being established as a New England writer, she published Plain Truth, which took place in the Pennsylvania Amish country. Each of Picoult’s novels deals with a serious issue, such as the search for birth parents, spousal abuse, mercy killing, teenage suicide, paranormal experiences, and child molestation by priests. Moreover, all of her novels are built around strong characters involved in an effort seeking to arrive at the truth about their relationships and, ultimately, about themselves.
Picoult won the New England Bookseller Association Award in Fiction in 2003 for her body of work. The Romance Writers of America designated Second Glance the best mainstream fiction novel of 2003. In 2005, My Sister’s Keeper received an Alex Award as one of the top ten adult books recommended for young adults. In 2006, My Sister’s Keeper won the 2006 Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award, a students’ choice award. Picoult’s books are frequently selected by book clubs and chosen for library reading groups, and several have been adapted for film and television. She has cowritten the young-adult novels Between the Lines (2012) and Off the Page (2015) with her daughter Samantha van Leer. In 2024, she released the novel By Any Other Name, which reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. The novel centers on two women; the first is a poet who may be the woman who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays, and the second is her descendant, who lives four hundred years later.
In 2023, Picoult became outspoken against a wave of book banning occurring in Florida. This followed as literary restrictions at public schools and libraries reportedly reached an all-time high in the United States in 2022. These efforts at literary restrictions were exemplified by Florida legislation, passed in 2022, that required a review of materials taught in public school classrooms. As a result of this effort, 92 titles were removed from schools in Florida's Martin County. Twenty of these books were written by Picoult, who became active on national news outlets denouncing the restrictions. In her view, the works she had written were not "salacious or revolutionary" but depicted human beings with cultural norms different from those of perceived mainstream society. She also noted that one of the banned books had dealt with the Nazi Third Reich and the Holocaust. Picoult found this ironic, as the Nazis had engaged in widespread book banning and burning during their reign of terror in Germany. Another of her books, Nineteen Minutes, published in 2007, is about a school shooting. However, the book was banned because Picoult uses the word "erection" in it, not because of its subject matter.
Bibliography
"Author Jodi Picoult Denounces Book Bans After Florida School District Pulls 20 of Her Titles From Shelves." ABC News, 27 Mar. 2023, abcnews.go.com/US/author-jodi-picoult-denounces-book-bans-after-florida/story?id=98151365. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
Bellafante, Ginia. "Jodi Picoult and the Anxious Parent." New York Times Magazine. New York Times, 17 June 2009. Web. 22 June 2016.
Egan, Elisabeth. "Jodi Picoult Waited to Write ‘The Book of Two Ways.’ Her Timing Was Impeccable." New York Times, 8 Oct. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/books/review/jodi-picoult-the-book-of-two-ways.html. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
Gordon, Bryony. "Jodi Picoult: 'It's Really Hard to Love America Sometimes.'" Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 26 Nov. 2014. Web. 22 June 2016.
Mueller, Julia. "Jodi Picoult Doubles Down Against Florida Book Bans In New Op-Ed." The Hill, 13 Mar. 2023, thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/3898749-jodi-picoult-doubles-down-against-florida-book-bans-in-new-op-ed. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
Picoult, Jodi. "Jodi Picoult Does Not Write Chick Lit." Interview by Andrew Goldman. New York Times Magazine. New York Times, 8 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 June 2016.
Saunders, Emma. "Jodi Picoult: It's Not a Badge of Honour to Be Banned." BBC, 24 May 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0vv17r20lro. Acccessed 3 Oct. 2024.