Bestselling author Jodi Picoult, 58, has written about controversial subjects such as race relations, eugenics and gun violence and is grateful that her readers have embraced her work. “I have the best fans, that’s true, because my fans are so willing that I’ll take them anywhere I need to go for a particular book. I’ve written about some very, very different and difficult subjects and they all say, ‘Great, we’re in.’ Not many authors have that latitude, so I’m very grateful for it,” she says. Her latest novel, Under a different nameavailable August 20, tells the story of two playwrights – separated by centuries – who both struggle with how best to get their voices heard. Picoult tells AARP about her plans for her 60th birthday, her favorite book to read this year and why she’s enjoying being a grandmother.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?
When I was 13 years old, I read the following books, among others: Gone with the wind. This is a really interesting book because when you read it again as an adult, especially now, you see a lot of flaws in it. There are a lot of things that are problematic about this book. But when I first read it, I remember the scenes of soldiers lying down – a whole field full of injured soldiers – and the way Margaret Mitchell was able to describe that, I could imagine it. I remember very clearly thinking: Well, I could. I could also describe such thingsAnd that was really the first time I thought that I could possibly do this.
Do you write more Wonder Woman Comic books?
I doubt it! I did that a long time ago and it was really, really fun, but it was hard work. And instead of writing comics, I’m currently writing musical librettos (dialogue and lyrics for a musical). And that takes up a lot of time.
Picoult’s latest novel weaves together the stories of two playwrights, centuries apart in their lives, struggling to make their works known to the world.
Courtesy of Penguin Random House
Musical libretti – that sounds difficult too! What does this process look like?
It’s fantastic. It’s completely different because when I write a novel, I’m alone in my office. And when I write a musical, I have multiple brains. I have a co-librettist who is sort of the other half of my brain, and then we have these songwriters. And then there are producers who comment and directors who comment. So it’s really writing by committee and by plan, and it’s a very different feeling writing collaboratively than writing a solo novel.
What are you writing?
The first one I did was an adaptation of my own book, Between the linesthat I wrote with my daughter (Samantha van Leer, 29), and that was off-Broadway. And then we adapted Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief which premiered in London’s West End. And then we have another piece that we are doing right now, an adaptation of a book called Austenland by Shannon Hale.
