“Jodi Picoult and The Writing Life: More Than a Good Story”
Concord, NH (July 2023) – New Hampshire Humanities (NHH) announces its 2023 Annual Celebration of the Humanities will be held on Wednesday, November 8 at 5 pm at The Palace Theatre in Manchester, featuring internationally known and New York Times #1 bestselling author, Jodi Picoult, in conversation with New Hampshire Poet Laureate, Alexandria Peary. A public reception will begin at 5:00 pm with appetizers, refreshments, and a cash bar, and the program will start at 6:15 pm sharp. For tickets and details visit www.nhhumanities.org/celebrate, contact New Hampshire Humanities at (603) 224-4071, or email info@nhhumanities.org.
The program, “Jodi Picoult and The Writing Life: More Than a Good Story,” will feature a heartfelt and lively conversation between author Jodi Picoult and New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary, as they discuss Picoult’s lengthy career as a virtuoso of the human story. Exploring gripping contemporary social and ethical issues in her storytelling, Picoult has tackled a wide range of topics including school violence, racism, discrimination, teen suicide, spouse abuse, children’s legal rights, childhood cancer, gay rights, the death penalty, war criminals, faith, and the value of life. Known as a prolific author and passionate researcher, Picoult has often been the subject of controversy, especially recently when a Florida school district banned 20 of her books.
Often set in rural New Hampshire, Jodi Picoult’s novels are an expanding archive of the controversies and dreams of 21st-century America. Hear about Picoult’s writing and research process, her collaborations with other writers, including her daughter, what brings her joy, and what it is like to see the disparate reactions to her books, which have been both banned and adapted into popular films and an off-Broadway musical. Audience members will glance into the remarkable work habits of a prolific writer of 30 novels, who, when asked what she considered her greatest accomplishment as an author, said she had “literally worn the letters off two consecutive computer keyboards.”
ABOUT JODI PICOULT: Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thirty novels, including Wish You Were Here, The Book of Two Ways, A Spark of Light, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, and My Sister’s Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page.
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 by New Line Cinema, directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Cameron Diaz. 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 in 2017 at the Kansas City Repertory Theater and premiered off-Broadway in 2022.
Picoult is the recipient of many awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Awards from the YALSA, a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America, the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit, and the Sarah Josepha Hale Award. She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of New Haven. She is also a member of the advisory board for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. Picoult and her husband live in New Hampshire and are the parents of three grown children.
The Annual Celebration of the Humanities is New Hampshire Humanities’ most important fundraiser and supports hundreds of free public programs that bring residents together to inspire curiosity, foster civic dialogue, and explore big ideas. Join leaders from New Hampshire’s corporate, educational, philanthropic, civic, cultural, and nonprofit communities to connect with one another, hear our keynote speaker, and support NHH’s ongoing work of bringing public humanities to New Hampshire citizens in every corner of the state.
Ticket levels are Orchestra: $50, Box: $45, Balcony: $35. Reserve your tickets directly from The Palace Theatre Box Office HERE. Ticket purchasers can submit a question for a possible live response from Jodi Picoult, New Hampshire’s own novelist of the world.
ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE HUMANITIES: New Hampshire Humanities (NHH) funds and supports programs that inspire curiosity, foster civil dialogue, and explore big questions. An independent, statewide nonprofit, NHH made possible last year 587 free public programs and digital broadcasts reaching 17,859 residents in partnership with 210 organizations in 121 communities, to engage all citizens, regardless of their age or educational level. For more information about New Hampshire Humanities, please visit www.nhhumanities.org.
