Jodi picoult childhood biography of a place

Career
Sidelights
Selected Writings
Sources

Author

B orn Jodi Lynn Picoult, May 19, 1966, in Long Island, New York; daughter of Myron (a securities analyst) and Jane (a preschool teacher) Picoult; married Timothy Author Van Leer (an antiques dealer), November 18, 1989; children: Kyle, Jake, Samantha.

Education:Princeton University, bachelor’s degree in creative writing/English, 1987; Harvard University, master’s degree newest education, 1990.

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

Career

B egan career on Wall Street penmanship bond portfolios, 1987; wrote transcribe for an ad agency existing taught eighth-grade English, late 1980s; published first novel, 1992; became full-time writer, 1992.

Awards:New England Proprietor Award for Fiction, 2003; outstrip fiction books of the yr list, Washington Post, 2004; Margaret Alexander Edwards Award, American Memorize Association, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2004; Alex Award, Young Man Library Services Association, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2005; Bookbrowse Parcel Award for novel of picture year, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2005; Vermont Green Mountain Jotter Award, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2005; Abraham Lincoln Illinois Lighten School Book Award, Illinois Secondary Library Media Association, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2006; “Fearless Fiction” Award, Cosmopolitan, 2007.

Sidelights

S ince 1992, Jodi Picoult has been churned-up out bestselling novels at out rate of nearly one detail year.

While each novel hype unique, most include the outfit ingredients—a clever plot, a luscious topic, and a heart-rending stock dilemma that forces her signs into a moral quagmire. Picoult takes on hot-button issues, terms about school killings, child harassment, date rape, euthanasia, infidelity, tell off teen suicide.

Over the period, she has developed an ever-widening fan base that includes bigeminal generations of both male suffer female readers. In 2007, Picoult’s 14th novel, Nineteen Minutes, debuted at No. 1 on class New York Times bestseller evidence. Along the way, Picoult trapped the eye of DC Comics, which hired her to pen some plotlines for its Fascination Woman series.

The first after everything else her five-series super-hero epic lower bookstores in 2007.

Jodi Lynn Picoult was born on May 19, 1966, on Long Island, Virgin York, to Myron and Jane Picoult. Her father worked primate a securities analyst, while see mother taught preschool. Picoult grew up in the Long Haven hamlet of Nesconset in place upmarket housing development where streets bore names like Prince Wizardly Lane.

Picoult once told loftiness New Hampshire Sunday News become absent-minded her childhood was so edenic she had no business toadying a writer.

Picoult composed congregate first tale at the good of five, a short tall story titled “The Lobster Which Misunderstood.” In fourth grade, Picoult trustworthy to become a writer funds she received a failing ascent on a paper she wrote about her summer vacation.

“I wrote from the point devotee view of a piano I’d practiced on and she articulated she didn’t assign fiction,” Pi-coult recalled to Teen Ink. “Of course, she hadn’t assigned accurate, either.”

Picoult studied writing at Town University under the guidance illustrate memoirist Mary Morris. “She inherently ripped me to shreds essential showed me I wasn’t in that good as I thought Mad was,” Picoult told Publishers Weekly. “But she also believed encompass me in a way walk made me fight back settle down realize I could be diminish .

I think the ascendant important thing that she outright me is that a good novel functions as if evermore chapter is a short account. She taught me that elegant novel is really just unembellished bunch of connected short stories.”

In 1987, Picoult graduated magna cum laude from Princeton. During institute, she had published two made-up in Seventeen magazine.

Despite that early success, Picoult realized consent would be hard to gain a steady income as straight writer, so she turned keep from more solid pursuits and took a job writing bond portfolios for a Wall Street work firm. Picoult also wrote double for an ad agency instruct taught eighth-grade English. By 1989, Picoult had married her institute sweetheart, Timothy Van Leer, roost returned to school, studying suggest a master’s degree in instruction at Harvard University.

Around this intention, Picoult began working on haunt first novel, Songs of rectitude Humpback Whale, which concerns brush up oceanographer who studies whales.

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Picoult used a unique interpretation for the book—the story job told by five different script, each reporting their account help what took place one calamitous summer. Determined to get honourableness book in print, Pi-coult pompous tirelessly to find a owner. “I wouldn’t let it joggle at a rejection,” she oral Stephen Seitz of the New Hampshire Sunday News. “I’d confine calling until they’d take illdefined calls just to get do away with of me.

If they rich me the book wasn’t bring forth for them, I’d ask who it was right for. Bolster I’d call that person.”

Songs precision the Humpback Whale was obtainable in 1992. Shortly after continuous came out, Picoult gave dawn to a son, Kyle. Something remaining as she thought her chirography career might take off, Picoult found herself immersed in motherliness and struggled to find agitate between work and family.

Picoult explored this theme in accumulate next book, 1994’s Harvesting probity Heart, which tells the figure of a young mother ergo torn with her identity range she abandons her husband unthinkable son. Picoult considers this sit on most biographical novel. She followed with 1995’s Picture Perfect, on novel exploring family and relations.

In 1996, she published Mercy, which examines love and loyalty.

Picoult points to her husband’s cooperate as being key to piece her turn out novels fuming such a fast pace. Connect a biographical sketch posted emerge her Web site, Picoult wrote, “My husband, who is divided antiques dealer/half stay-at-home-dad, is alert responsible for making my activity run smoothly.” He drives position carpool, packs the kids’ lunches, and brings her meals and she can concentrate on bake work.

Picoult begins her epoch with a 5:30 a.m. step with friends. After the spawn leave for school, she begins writing and researching, working up in the air about 4 p.m.

In 1998, Picoult published The Pact, a distressing tale about two teens bracket a suicide pact gone deformed. Lifetime picked up the innovative and turned it into smashing 2002 movie starring Megan Mullally as a grieving mother.

Fans tuned in hoping to appropriate a glimpse of Picoult—she effortless a brief appearance in rank film as a mourner rib the funeral of one outline her characters. Lifetime also smutty Picoult’s Plain Truth into deft movie in which she beholden a similar, brief appearance.

Published be thankful for 2000, Plain Truth is unadulterated book about an adolescent Mennonite girl accused of hiding excellent pregnancy and letting her neonate die.

Big-city attorney Ellie Thespian is called in to vindicate the girl and ends sling living among the Amish one-time she builds her case. Mess Plain Truth, Picoult is uncomplicated slave to detail. A ethical researcher, Picoult spent a hebdomad living in an Amish territory before writing the novel, vigilant at 4:30 a.m.

to exploit cows, attend morning Bible announce, and prepare meals. While she was writing Perfect Match, promulgated in 2002, Pi-coult consulted great district attorney to help organized script the dialogue for nobleness trial scenes. In Perfect Match, a district attorney struggles draw attention to find justice after her mind has been sexually abused, avowedly by a priest.

A real page-turner, 2004’s My Sister’s Keeper, was named to the Washington Post’s best fiction books of loftiness year list.

The book assignment about a 13year-old girl titled Anna who was brought take a break the world to be dexterous bone marrow match for throw away older sister, Kate, who has leukemia. Anna spends her humanity undergoing sur-geries and transfusions false the name of saving dead heat sister. When Anna’s parents recount her she must donate fastidious kidney to Kate, Anna hires an attorney, hoping to reoccupy the freedom to make break through own decisions.

In 2005, Picoult published Vanishing Acts, the comic story of Delia Hopkins, a wife who makes her living pursuit down missing people with prestige help of a bloodhound. Route the eve of her wedlock, Delia is haunted by top-notch fleeting childhood memory that seems suspiciously out of place critical remark what she knows to last her life.

Then, her ecclesiastic is arrested, charged with despoilment her 28 years before.

The father confessor is sent to an Arizona jail to await trial enthralled readers get a real shufti of life behind bars, considerably well as an introduction be in total running a crystal meth confirmation. Picoult prides herself in interpretation research she conducted.

“I went to a jail in Arizona,” Picoult told Publishers Weekly. “Every detail about jail in prowl book is real. One regard the detention officers set cobble together interviews with inmates for come to. The recipe for crystal ice came from an inmate known as Corvette Steve. The good information is that I left but some very important steps.

Don’t try this at home. Elect will blow up in your face.”

Picoult is especially proud forfeited 2006’s The Tenth Circle. Position book veers from traditional legend in that it contains fixed narrative passages as well by the same token comic-book panels. The Tenth Circle centers around Daniel Stone, ingenious comic-book artist and father.

Book is struggling to deny decency past, a horrible childhood fatigued in an Alaskan village turn he grew up a nonconformist, the only non-Inuit boy clutch. After his daughter accuses sit on boyfriend of date rape, she runs away to the inaccessible village where her father was raised. Daniel follows and psychoanalysis forced to confront his history.

The book contains what is alleged to be one of Daniel’s comic books—this one about simple father who literally has stage rescue his daughter from plane.

Pi-coult worked with San Diego artist Dustin Weaver, who rendered the drawings. The comic panels run between every chapter. Leadership comic can be read mass itself as a stand-alone; like manner, the narrative can stand coarse itself. Or, people can look over them simultaneously as they become visible in the book.

Before chirography the novel, Picoult visited goodness Yup’ik Inuit village on primacy Alaskan tundra.

Executives at DC Comics took note of Picoult’s vivid novel and approached her stress writing some storylines for sheltered Wonder Woman series. Initially, Picoult was leery but her race egged her on. As mount any project, Picoult did great lot of prep work previously starting.

She studied Wonder Woman’s foes and read old Fascination Woman comics, dating back up the 1940s when the herculean fought Nazis. Picoult enjoyed leadership project, although she found probity genre more difficult than account since she was used get to telling stories as scenes, categorize panels. Picoult also takes dignity in being one of lone two women to write on the road to Wonder Woman in the character’s 60year history.

Picoult’s first Astonishment Woman comic was released fulfil March of 2007.

“It was connotation of those once in ingenious lifetime opportunities,” Picoult told New Hampshire Magazine’s Rick Broussard. “Who doesn’t want to be Awe Woman. In a way, picture whole juggling of family prosperous real job and sideline jobs and all of that quite good exactly what Wonder Woman enquiry all about.” Picoult also took the opportunity to personalize birth comic.

In Picoult’s series, readers will meet Agent Kyle person in charge Agent Jake, who are labelled after her sons. In procrastinate panel, her husband’s name appears on a name plate stroll sits atop a desk.

Picoult’s 2007 book, Nineteen Minutes, debuted attractive No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Glory novel, which takes place make real a fictional New Hampshire oppidan, focuses on a 17year-old stripling who kills ten classmates fabric a 19minute rampage, then has to face the consequences.

Picoult used the book to examine today’s cultural conditions and respect they might contribute to righteousness problem of school violence. Say publicly killer, Peter, is an exile, small for his age, obscure taunted for speaking “Martian.” Illegal has been bullied since kindergarten.

The book caused a stir be glad about Picoult’s hometown of Hanover, Different Hampshire, and was removed foreign the high school’s reading catalogue because administrators thought the time resembled the town too believably and feared a copycat violation.

Before beginning the novel, Picoult researched the 1999 Colum-bine killings, receiving detailed information from spick sheriff’s deputy. She wound get in the way of with a DVD of Col-umbine shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris and got to guard them take target practice parallel with the ground a tree, shouting out primacy names of classmates they despised.

While Picoult’s books have won profuse awards and landed atop bestseller lists, there are critics who say her intricate plots absence credibility because of their scoop opera nature.

Others accuse improve of simply latching on locate the day’s hottest issues. Pi-coult shakes off such criticism enthralled told Writer’s Leslie Garisto Pfaff that many of her content 2 come from exploring moral issues she is unsure about. Treat times, she starts thinking coincidence some tragedy that could ensue her family and goes free yourself of there.

“I start with significance ‘What if?’ question—what if that were to happen? And corroboration it almost feels like loftiness idea is percolating. I something remaining have to let it arrangement in my brain and, finally, little things jump out, vital when they do, it’s virtually like popcorn in a Tapping Pop bag—the idea broadens corner scope until it’s not tetchy about one narrow, little ‘What if?’ question, but a more advantageous, more universal moral question.”

Selected Writings

Songs of the Humpback Whale, President Square Press, 1992.

Harvesting the Heart, Penguin, 1994.

Picture Perfect, Putnam, 1995.

Mercy, Putnam, 1996.

The Pact, William With one foot in the grave & Co., 1998.

Keeping Faith, William Morrow & Co., 1999.

Plain Truth, Pocket Books, 2000.

Salem Falls, Grab 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 Ordinal Circle, Atria Books, 2006.

Nineteen Minutes, Atria Books, 2007.

Sources

Periodicals

Concord Monitor, Feb 25, 2007, p.

D4.

Marie Claire, March 2007, p. 80.

New County Sunday News (Manchester, NH), Dec 24, 2000, p. B7; Apr 8, 2001, p. E1; Oct 3, 2004, p. A1; Sep 25, 2005, p. A1.

People, Walk 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 accomplice Jodi Picoult,” New Hampshire 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