# Jodi Picoult

Jodi Lynn Picoult (/ˈdʒoʊdi ˈpiːkoʊ/; born 1966) 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. She has 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-long 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 (vol. 3), following the departure of Allan Heinberg. Her first issue (number 6) 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 of William Shakespeare. Picoult says "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." and that Shakespeare could not have written proto-feminist characters.

## Advocacy

In 2016, Picoult joined 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". Picoult's website says that VIDA: Women in Literary Arts is a research-driven organization.
She was a member of the inaugural Writers Council of the National Writing Project in 2013, an organization which recognizes the "universality of writing as a communicative tool and helps teachers enhance student writing". This inaugural group consisted of 30 published authors.
She was a spokesperson for Positive Tracks, which helps young people to fundraise through athletics.
In 2010, Picoult led the 5th Annual Children's Hospital at Dartmouth Hero Half Marathon & Relay 5K Walk around Occom Pond and through the town of Hanover, New Hampshire.
She is a member of the Advisory Committee for the New Hampshire Coalition Against the Death Penalty, an organization that successfully sought to end the death penalty in the state of New Hampshire through outreach, education and advocacy.
She was the co-founder, with Marjorie Rose, of the Trumbull Hall Troupe in 2004 as a means of providing children with a fun, educational theatre experience. Children from grade 6 through grade 12 audition to be in an original musical written by Picoult and composer Ellen Wilber. The proceeds are donated to local charities. The organization's contributions since its founding have exceeded $120,000.
On January 21, 2017, Picoult spoke at the New Hampshire Women's Day of Action and Unity in support of the Women's March on Washington.

### Book bannings

In March 2023, 20 of Picoult's books were removed from Florida's Martin County School District for review of potentially inappropriate content. According to Picoult, the complaint was made by a sole parent who characterized her books as "adult romance", which Picoult has refuted, saying: "What [the books] do have, however, are issues like racism, abortion rights, gun control, gay rights, and other topics that encourage kids to think for themselves." Picoult criticized Moms for Liberty for demanding the removal of her books.
During the summer of 2023, an Iowa law banning books with sex acts from school libraries was applied by the Urbandale Community School District to include Nineteen Minutes as part of a list of 374 books being considered for removal.

## Honors and awards

* New England Bookseller Award for Fiction (2003)
* Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association (2005)
* Book Browse Diamond Award for novel of the year (2005)
* Lifetime Achievement Award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America
* Fearless Fiction Award from Cosmopolitan magazine (2007)
* Waterstone's Author of the Year (UK)
* Vermont Green Mountain Book Award (2007)
* New Hampshire Granite State Book Award
* Virginia Reader's Choice Award (2007)
* Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award (2006)
* Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award (2007)
* New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit (2013–14)
* Princeton Alumni Weekly Our Most Influential Alumni list
* Sarah Josepha Hale Award Medalist (2019)

## Personal life

Picoult has been married, since 1989, to Timothy Warren van Leer, whom she met in college. They reside in Hanover, New Hampshire, with their three children. 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 (2022).
* 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.
"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."