How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Jodi Picoult Writes
07/05/24 • 36 min
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#1 New York Times bestselling author, Jodi Picoult, spoke with me about writing for Wonder Woman, adapting books for musical theater, and the question of Shakespeare's true authorship in her upcoming novel BY ANY OTHER NAME.
Jodi Picoult is the bestselling author of 30 novels, including landmark titles such as Mad Honey – her most recent 1 million-copy bestseller – Wish You Were Here, A Spark of Light, and Small Great Things. 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide and have been translated into 34 languages.
Her forthcoming novel is BY ANY OTHER NAME (on sale 8/20; Ballantine), described as a novel about two women, centuries apart – one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays – who are both forced to hide behind another name.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah said of the book, “You’ll fall in love with Emilia Bassano, the unforgettable heroine based on a real woman that Picoult brings vividly to life in her brilliantly researched new novel.” Elle called it, “[An] inspiring work of feminist literature inspired by real historical accounts.”
Jodi was also co-librettist for the stage musical adaptation of her young adult novel Between the Lines (which premiered Off-Broadway in Summer 2022), the co-librettist of the musical BREATHE, the co-librettist of the musical adaptation of The Book Thief, and she is currently at work on an adaptation of Austenland.
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In this file Jodi Picoult and I discussed:
- What's changed and what hasn't for women (in theater) over 400+ years?
- The best time to break an arm for an author
- How she works in cycles for her books
- Why her kids made her write for Wonder Woman
- The conundrum of a famous playwright who didn’t own a single book
- And a lot more!
Show Notes:
- jodipicoult.com
- By Any Other Name: A Novel By Jodi Picoult (Amazon)
- Jodi Picoult Amazon Author Page
- WAS SHAKESPEARE A WOMAN? – Elizabeth Winkler for The Atlantic
- Jodi Picoult on Facebook
- Jodi Picoult on Twitter
- Jodi Picoult on Instagram
- Jodi Picoult on TikTok
- Kelton Reid on Twitter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
#1 New York Times bestselling author, Jodi Picoult, spoke with me about writing for Wonder Woman, adapting books for musical theater, and the question of Shakespeare's true authorship in her upcoming novel BY ANY OTHER NAME.
Jodi Picoult is the bestselling author of 30 novels, including landmark titles such as Mad Honey – her most recent 1 million-copy bestseller – Wish You Were Here, A Spark of Light, and Small Great Things. 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide and have been translated into 34 languages.
Her forthcoming novel is BY ANY OTHER NAME (on sale 8/20; Ballantine), described as a novel about two women, centuries apart – one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays – who are both forced to hide behind another name.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah said of the book, “You’ll fall in love with Emilia Bassano, the unforgettable heroine based on a real woman that Picoult brings vividly to life in her brilliantly researched new novel.” Elle called it, “[An] inspiring work of feminist literature inspired by real historical accounts.”
Jodi was also co-librettist for the stage musical adaptation of her young adult novel Between the Lines (which premiered Off-Broadway in Summer 2022), the co-librettist of the musical BREATHE, the co-librettist of the musical adaptation of The Book Thief, and she is currently at work on an adaptation of Austenland.
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file Jodi Picoult and I discussed:
- What's changed and what hasn't for women (in theater) over 400+ years?
- The best time to break an arm for an author
- How she works in cycles for her books
- Why her kids made her write for Wonder Woman
- The conundrum of a famous playwright who didn’t own a single book
- And a lot more!
Show Notes:
- jodipicoult.com
- By Any Other Name: A Novel By Jodi Picoult (Amazon)
- Jodi Picoult Amazon Author Page
- WAS SHAKESPEARE A WOMAN? – Elizabeth Winkler for The Atlantic
- Jodi Picoult on Facebook
- Jodi Picoult on Twitter
- Jodi Picoult on Instagram
- Jodi Picoult on TikTok
- Kelton Reid on Twitter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
How Critically Acclaimed Author Tracy O'Neill Writes
Critically acclaimed author, Tracy O'Neill, spoke with me about reality hunger vs. the hyper-realness of the pandemic, writing a love letter to friendship, and searching for her birth mother in her noir-adjacent memoir WOMAN OF INTEREST.
Tracy O'Neill is a National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 honoree, and the author of The Hopeful, one of Electric Literature's Best Novels of 2015, and Quotients, a New York Times New & Noteworthy Book, TOR Editor's Choice, & Literary Hub Favorite Book of 2020.
Her first book of nonfiction is the memoir WOMAN OF INTEREST (HarperOne; on-sale: 6/25/24) described by The Millions as “an intimate memoir written with the narrative propulsion of a detective novel” in their list of Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2024.
In a Starred Review Publishers Weekly, called it “...riveting... cool, noir-tinted prose shot through with wit and compassion, O’Neill presents her inquiry as a sort of metaphysical detective story. Readers will be riveted.”
Her writing has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, the New Yorker, LitHub, and BOMB, among other publications. She teaches at Vassar College and holds an MFA from the City College of New York and a PhD from Columbia University.
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file Tracy O'Neill and I discussed:
COVID as a catalyst for life change
Why real life doesn’t adhere to any genre
Meditations on language and storytelling
How her process has evolved from fiction to non-fiction
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
Woman of Interest: A Memoir By Tracy O'Neill (Amazon)
Tracy O'Neill Amazon Author Page
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Next Episode
How Lauded Debut Author Isabel Banta Writes
Lauded debut author, Isabel Banta, spoke to me about working at Books Are Magic with Emma Straub, her love of Britney Spears, and capturing Y2K era pop superstardom in her debut novel HONEY.
Isabel Banta is a writer, book publicist, and indie bookseller at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn.
Her debut novel is HONEY, named a 'GMA' Buzz Pick and described as “...a coming-of-age story about a pop star in the late '90s and early 2000s who's determined to find and claim her own identity.”
Honey was named a best book of the summer by PEOPLE, ELLE, PureWow and Our Culture, as well as a Goodreads Editor's Choice and IndieNext Pick.
New York Times bestselling author Emma Straub said of the book, "Honey is a sexy swagger of a debut." LitHub named it one of 18 Books to Read this Summer, “A delightfully bubblegum novel of hot summer nostalgia that also lands some serious blows to the patriarchal mores of a cultural milieu we still haven’t fully shaken off.”
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file Isabel Banta and I discussed:
Why she loves talking about and promoting other writers
The surreality of finally publishing her own book
How she approached the subject of the commodification of young stars in the music industry
Why you need to pivot POVs as a novelist
Her writing routine
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
Honey: A Novel By Isabel Banta (Amazon)
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