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Jodi Lynn Picoult (; 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, Infertility, 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."Geoff Hamilton and Brian Jones (2010), Encyclopedia of Contemporary Writers and Their Works, Infobase Publishing
In 2016, Picoult was selected to be Princeton's Class Day Speaker before commencement.
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.
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.
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.
In 2024 a book tour was held by Picoult in tandem with the organisation Unite Against Bookbans. During events speakers focused on the issue of library censorship and campaign resource kits were distributed to attendees.
Regarding recurring characters, Picoult once remarked, "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."
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