Creating Stories Worth Remembering with Bestselling Author Jodi Picoult

Description

Episode Summary

Few modern writers have captured the zeitgeist of the era as eloquently as Jodi Picoult. Small Great Things, A Spark of Light, and more than a dozen others – powerful books with front-page themes such as racism and abortion that touch a nerve, and keep readers turning the pages. Jodi talks about it all, her early years, why she chooses to write what she writes, how she does it, why she loves her readers, and what it felt like the first time she hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Syd Finkelstein

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, whichLinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life.

Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is the #1 bestselling author of twenty-five novels including My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes, The Storyteller, Leaving Time, the acclaimed #1 bestseller, Small Great Things, which explored the issues of power, privilege and race, and has sold more than 1.5 million copies. Picoult's most recent novel, A SPARK OF LIGHT, published on October 2, 2018, was her tenth consecutive instant #1 New York Times bestseller, and was praised as “Picoult at her fearless best” by the Washington Post.

Picoult’s books have been translated into thirty-four languages in thirty-five countries. Four novels – The Pact, Plain Truth, The Tenth Circle, and Salem Falls – have been made into television movies. My Sister’s Keeper was a film released from New Line Cinema, with Nick Cassavetes directing and Cameron Diaz starring. SMALL GREAT THINGS has been optioned for motion picture adaptation by Amblin Entertainment and is set to star Viola Davis and Julia Roberts. Picoult’s two Young Adult novels, Between The Lines and Off The Page, co-written with her daughter Samantha Van Leer, have been adapted and developed by the authors into a musical entitled Between The Lines which had its world premiere on September 2017 at the Kansas City Repertory Theater and is expected to premiere Off-Broadway in Summer 2019.

Insights from this episode:

The benefits of being born white, overcoming white privilege, and what you can do to stand up for racial justice.
The emotional toll of writing a book on abortion and the difficulties involved in researching the topic.
Details on her writing process, where her ideas come from, and what happens when the story changes.
How her community of dedicated readers was formed and the challenges of presenting yourself as technology changes combined with the rise of social media.
How storytelling has evolved with self-publishing, and the benefits of having an agent and editor.

Quotes from the show:

Referring to Jodi Picoult: “You are legendary for the work that you do.” – Syd Finkelstein
Regarding writing a book on racism: “As a white woman I am never going to be able to tell a person of color what they experience, but I can tell you what other white people think.” – Jodi Picoult
On where her ideas come from: “The things that keep me up at night, the things I’m worried about, and it could be something that I’m worried about as a wife, as a woman, as an American. It’s the questions I don’t have the answers to, that I still need to figure out.” – Jodi Picoult
On why she made the decision to not publish a book she had written: “I think my readers deserve to get great from me, at whatever moment of my life I’m at. ” – Jodi Picoult
“I’ve been very fortunate to have amazing readers who have stuck with me no matter what I wanted to write because I don’t write about easy stuff.” – Jodi Picoult
“I still think that my novels defy categorization.” – Jodi Picoult
On the reality of being an overnight sensation: “They don’t know what blood, sweat, and tears that are behind it. ” – Syd Finkelstein
“I love going out on a book tour and meeting my readers. I love putting on the show when it’s time to talk about a book.” – Jodi Picoult
“You, as a reader, bring things to a book, that change your experience of the book and that really makes it personal for you.” – Jodi Picoult
On the rise of self-publication: “Sometimes instant isn’t best.” – Jodi Picoult