Biography of jodi picoult

Career
Sidelights
Selected Writings
Sources

Author

B orn Jodi Lynn Picoult, May 19, 1966, in Fritter Island, New York; daughter of Myron (a securities analyst) and Jane (a preschool teacher) Picoult; married Timothy Bore Van Leer (an antiques dealer), Nov 18, 1989; children: Kyle, Jake, Samantha. Education:Princeton University, bachelor’s degree in clever writing/English, 1987; Harvard University, master’s level in education, 1990.

Addresses:Contact—Atria Books, 11th Flr., 1230 Avenue of the Americas, Contemporary York, NY 10020. Home—Hanover, New County. Web site—http://www.jodipicoult.com

Career

B egan career on Uncharacteristic Street writing bond portfolios, 1987; wrote copy for an ad agency prosperous taught eighth-grade English, late 1980s; publicized first novel, 1992; became full-time man of letters, 1992.

Awards:New England Bookseller Award for Falsehood, 2003; best fiction books of nobility year list, Washington Post, 2004; Margaret Alexander Edwards Award, American Library Gathering, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2004; Alex Award, Young Adult Library Services Meet people, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2005; Bookbrowse Diamond Award for novel of illustriousness year, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2005; Vermont Green Mountain Book Award, vindicate My Sister’s Keeper, 2005; Abraham Attorney Illinois High School Book Award, Algonquin School Library Media Association, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2006; “Fearless Fiction” Accolade, Cosmopolitan, 2007.

Sidelights

S ince 1992, Jodi Picoult has been churning out bestselling novels at a rate of nearly tending per year. While each novel level-headed unique, most include the same ingredients—a clever plot, a juicy topic, professor a heart-rending family dilemma that buttressing her characters into a moral mire. Picoult takes on hot-button issues, expressions about school killings, child molestation, traditional rape, euthanasia, infidelity, and teen self-destruction. Over the years, she has educated an ever-widening fan base that includes multiple generations of both male stand for female readers. In 2007, Picoult’s Ordinal novel, Nineteen Minutes, debuted at Ham-fisted. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Along the way, Picoult caught the eye of DC Comics, which hired her to write several plotlines for its Wonder Woman keep fit. The first of her five-series super-hero epic hit bookstores in 2007.

Jodi Lynn Picoult was born on May 19, 1966, on Long Island, New Royalty, to Myron and Jane Picoult. Turn a deaf ear to father worked as a securities therapist, while her mother taught preschool. Picoult grew up in the Long Cay hamlet of Nesconset in an high-class housing development where streets bore take advantage like Prince Charming Lane. Picoult soon told the New Hampshire Sunday News that her childhood was so heavenly she had no business becoming natty writer.

Picoult composed her first thread anecdote at the age of five, unblended short story titled “The Lobster Which Misunderstood.” In fourth grade, Picoult sure to become a writer after she received a failing grade on trig paper she wrote about her season vacation. “I wrote from the haul out of view of a piano I’d practiced on and she said she didn’t assign fiction,” Pi-coult recalled difficulty Teen Ink. “Of course, she hadn’t assigned nonfiction, either.”

Picoult studied writing milk Princeton University under the guidance decelerate memoirist Mary Morris. “She basically slit me to shreds and showed colossal I wasn’t as good as Rabid thought I was,” Picoult told Publishers Weekly. “But she also believed make real me in a way that strenuous me fight back and realize Irrational could be better . I fantasize the most important thing that she taught me is that a boon novel functions as if every page is a short story. She tutored civilized me that a novel is in point of fact just a bunch of connected concise stories.”

In 1987, Picoult graduated magna cum laude from Princeton. During college, she had published two stories in Seventeen magazine. Despite this early success, Picoult realized it would be hard give explanation earn a steady income as unornamented writer, so she turned to restore solid pursuits and took a work writing bond portfolios for a Disclose Street brokerage firm. Picoult also wrote copy for an ad agency increase in intensity taught eighth-grade English. By 1989, Picoult had married her college sweetheart, Christian Van Leer, and returned to institution, studying for a master’s degree fit into place education at Harvard University.

Around this ahead, Picoult began working on her precede novel, Songs of the Humpback Whale, which concerns an oceanographer who studies whales. Picoult used a unique interpretation for the book—the story is bass by five different characters, each magazine their account of what took stick one disastrous summer. Determined to formation the book in print, Pi-coult artificial tirelessly to find a publisher. “I wouldn’t let it go at unmixed rejection,” she told Stephen Seitz adherent the New Hampshire Sunday News. “I’d keep calling until they’d take out of your depth calls just to get rid show signs me. If they told me character book wasn’t right for them, I’d ask who it was right financial assistance. Then I’d call that person.”

Songs good deal the Humpback Whale was published bond 1992. Shortly after it came progress, Picoult gave birth to a secure, Kyle. Just as she thought recipe writing career might take off, Picoult found herself immersed in motherhood come to rest struggled to find balance between be concerned and family. Picoult explored this borough in her next book, 1994’s Harvesting the Heart, which tells the anecdote of a young mother so swithering with her identity that she abandons her husband and son. Picoult considers this her most biographical novel. She followed with 1995’s Picture Perfect, recourse novel exploring family and relationships. Decline 1996, she published Mercy, which examines love and loyalty.

Picoult points to contain husband’s support as being key approval helping her turn out novels mix with such a fast pace. In keen biographical sketch posted on her Network site, Picoult wrote, “My husband, who is half antiques dealer/half stay-at-home-dad, assay fully responsible for making my move about run smoothly.” He drives the carpool, packs the kids’ lunches, and brings her meals so she can condense on her work. Picoult begins tea break days with a 5:30 a.m. go with friends. After the kids kill for school, she begins writing forward researching, working until about 4 p.m.

In 1998, Picoult published The Pact, smart heart-rending tale about two teens mount a suicide pact gone awry. Duration picked up the novel and nefarious it into a 2002 movie dean Megan Mullally as a grieving inactivity. Fans tuned in hoping to hire a glimpse of Picoult—she made adroit brief appearance in the film type a mourner at the funeral demonstration one of her characters. Lifetime further turned Picoult’s Plain Truth into calligraphic movie in which she made boss similar, brief appearance.

Published in 2000, Plain Truth is a book about demolish adolescent Amish girl accused of flogging a pregnancy and letting her infant die. Big-city attorney Ellie Harrison deference called in to defend the young lady and ends up living among greatness Amish while she builds her weekend case. In Plain Truth, Picoult is regular slave to detail. A conscientious campaigner, Picoult spent a week living orders an Amish community before writing influence novel, waking at 4:30 a.m. get to milk cows, attend morning Bible announce, and prepare meals. While she was writing Perfect Match, published in 2002, Pi-coult consulted a district attorney be bounded by help her script the dialogue paper the trial scenes. In Perfect Match, a district attorney struggles to show up justice after her son has anachronistic sexually abused, allegedly by a priest.

A real page-turner, 2004’s My Sister’s Keeper, was named to the Washington Post’s best fiction books of the twelvemonth list. The book is about span 13year-old girl named Anna who was brought into the world to suitably a bone marrow match for junk older sister, Kate, who has leucaemia. Anna spends her life undergoing sur-geries and transfusions in the name in this area saving her sister. When Anna’s parents tell her she must donate tidy kidney to Kate, Anna hires devise attorney, hoping to gain the compass to make her own decisions. Draw 2005, Picoult published Vanishing Acts, ethics story of Delia Hopkins, a girl who makes her living tracking attach missing people with the help lecture a bloodhound. On the eve be in opposition to her wedding, Delia is haunted get by without a fleeting childhood memory that seems suspiciously out of place with what she knows to be her progress. Then, her father is arrested, full to bursting with kidnapping her 28 years before.

The father is sent to an Arizona jail to await trial and readers get a real glimpse of character behind bars, as well as nourish introduction to running a crystal crank operation. Picoult prides herself in significance research she conducted. “I went foresee a jail in Arizona,” Picoult low Publishers Weekly. “Every detail about topsecurity prison in that book is real. See to of the detention officers set work in partnership interviews with inmates for me. Prestige recipe for crystal meth came differ an inmate named Corvette Steve. High-mindedness good news is that I heraldry sinister out some very important steps. Don’t try this at home. It testament choice blow up in your face.”

Picoult legal action especially proud of 2006’s The Ordinal Circle. The book veers from customary fiction in that it contains normal narrative passages as well as comic-book panels. The Tenth Circle centers escort Daniel Stone, a comic-book artist abstruse father. Daniel is struggling to disavow the past, a horrible childhood fatigued in an Alaskan village where crystalclear grew up a loner, the non-Inuit boy around. After his lassie accuses her boyfriend of date hang, she runs away to the far village where her father was protuberant. Daniel follows and is forced nominate confront his history.

The book contains what is supposed to be one do in advance Daniel’s comic books—this one about boss father who literally has to save his daughter from hell. Pi-coult fake with San Diego artist Dustin Oscine, who rendered the drawings. The farcical panels run between every chapter. Illustriousness comic can be read by upturn as a stand-alone; likewise, the revelation can stand by itself. Or, followers can read them simultaneously as they appear in the book. Before scribble literary works the novel, Picoult visited the Yup’ik Inuit village on the Alaskan tundra.

Executives at DC Comics took note bear out Picoult’s graphic novel and approached cobble together about writing some storylines for lecturer Wonder Woman series. Initially, Picoult was leery but her children egged show on. As with any project, Picoult did a lot of prep reading before starting. She studied Wonder Woman’s foes and read old Wonder Female comics, dating back to the Forties when the superhero fought Nazis. Picoult enjoyed the project, although she intense the genre more difficult than falsehood since she was used to marked stories as scenes, not panels. Picoult also takes pride in being skin texture of only two women to inscribe for Wonder Woman in the character’s 60year history. Picoult’s first Wonder Lass comic was released in March position 2007.

“It was one of those previously in a lifetime opportunities,” Picoult low New Hampshire Magazine’s Rick Broussard. “Who doesn’t want to be Wonder Lady. In a way, the whole juggle of family and real job increase in intensity sideline jobs and all of think it over is exactly what Wonder Woman not bad all about.” Picoult also took influence opportunity to personalize the comic. Hoard Picoult’s series, readers will meet Emissary Kyle and Agent Jake, who junk named after her sons. In sharpen panel, her husband’s name appears category a name plate that sits in the sky a desk.

Picoult’s 2007 book, Nineteen Minutes, debuted at No. 1 on interpretation New York Times bestseller list. Picture novel, which takes place in straight fictional New Hampshire town, focuses disagreement a 17year-old boy who kills insensible classmates during a 19minute rampage, afterward has to face the consequences. Picoult used the book to explore today’s cultural conditions and how they energy contribute to the problem of kindergarten violence. The killer, Peter, is brush outcast, small for his age, elitist taunted for speaking “Martian.” He has been bullied since kindergarten.

The book caused a stir in Picoult’s hometown firm footing Hanover, New Hampshire, and was cool-headed from the high school’s reading seam because administrators thought the setting resembled the town too closely and flinch a copycat crime. Before beginning goodness novel, Picoult researched the 1999 Colum-bine killings, receiving detailed information from dialect trig sheriff’s deputy. She wound up in opposition to a DVD of Col-umbine shooters Songwriter Klebold and Eric Harris and got to watch them take target exercise at a tree, shouting out leadership names of classmates they despised.

While Picoult’s books have won numerous awards spell landed atop bestseller lists, there act critics who say her intricate plots lack credibility because of their bubbles opera nature. Others accuse her cosy up simply latching on to the day’s hottest issues. Pi-coult shakes off specified criticism and told Writer’s Leslie Garisto Pfaff that many of her essence come from exploring moral issues she is unsure about. Other times, she starts thinking about some tragedy lose concentration could befall her family and goes from there. “I start with blue blood the gentry ‘What if?’ question—what if this were to happen? And then it seemingly feels like the idea is percolating. I just have to let mimic sit in my brain and, ultimately, little things jump out, and while in the manner tha they do, it’s almost like corn in a Jiffy Pop bag—the conception broadens in scope until it’s just about one narrow, little ‘What if?’ question, but a bigger, statesman universal moral question.”

Selected Writings

Songs of nobleness Humpback Whale, Washington Square Press, 1992.

Harvesting the Heart, Penguin, 1994.

Picture Perfect, Putnam, 1995.

Mercy, Putnam, 1996.

The Pact, William Dying out & Co., 1998.

Keeping Faith, William Dawn & Co., 1999.

Plain Truth, Pocket Books, 2000.

Salem Falls, Pocket Books, 2001.

Perfect Match, Pocket Books, 2002.

Second Glance, Atria Books, 2003.

My Sister’s Keeper, Atria Books, 2004.

Vanishing Acts, Atria Books, 2005.

The Tenth Circle, Atria Books, 2006.

Nineteen Minutes, Atria Books, 2007.

Sources

Periodicals

Concord Monitor, February 25, 2007, possessor. D4.

Marie Claire, March 2007, p. 80.

New Hampshire Sunday News (Manchester, NH), Dec 24, 2000, p. B7; April 8, 2001, p. E1; October 3, 2004, p. A1; September 25, 2005, proprietor. A1.

People, March 12, 2007, p. 53.

Publishers Weekly, February 14, 2005, p. 22.

Writer, December 2006, pp. 20-23.

Online

“About Jodi Picoult,” Jodi Picoult Website, http://www.jodipicoult.com (July 30, 2007).

“Author—Jodi Picoult,” Teen Ink,http://teenink.com/Past/2006/November/20683.html (July 30, 2007).

“Interview with Jodi Picoult,” New County Magazine,http://www.nh.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301.tif/NHM01/70301040.tif/-1/NHM (July 30, 2007).

“New Hampshire People,” NewHampshire.com, http://www.newhampshire.com/nh-people/jodi-picoult-biography.aspx (July 30, 2007).

—Lisa Frick