North Central College will host a talk by best-selling author Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha van Leer June 30 as part of the College’s Sesquicentennial Author Series presented by Anderson’s Bookshops.
Their talk and book signing will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 30, in North Central’s Wentz Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave. The cost is $19.99 plus tax and includes admission to the event and a copy of their new book, Between the Lines. One additional companion ticket may be purchased for $5. Call Anderson’s at 630-355-2665 or visit the bookshop at 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville.
“Between the Lines is about what happens when happily ever after isn’t,” says Picoult about her first tween or young-adult novel and her first co-authored work with teenage daughter Samantha.
Picoult-a best-selling author of 18 novels with the last five debuting at number one on the New York Times bestseller list-is “a skilled wordsmith and beautifully creates situations that not only provoke the mind but touch the flawed souls in all of us,” says the Boston Globe. Picoult studied writing at Princeton University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. She also earned a master’s degree in education from Harvard University.
Picoult wrote her first story at age 5 and published two stories in Seventeen magazine while at Princeton. She wrote her first novel, Songs of the Humpback Whale, while she was pregnant with her first child and published it in 1992. Her novels usually deal with ethical issues and are told from a variety of viewpoints, with each chapter written in a different character’s voice. She writes stories that are heart-wrenching and full of family drama, and several have been adapted into films for Lifetime TV network. Her first feature film, My Sister’s Keeper, was released in theaters in 2009.
North Central College’s Sesquicentennial Author Series began in fall 2011 at the start of the College’s 150th anniversary celebration and concludes with Picoult’s visit. Featured authors have included Caroline Kennedy, Tyra Banks, Bill Bryson and Philippa Gregory.
Anderson’s Bookshops specialize in book sales, author events, book signings and building a sense of community, learning and fun. The store has been helping Naperville readers for six generations. Based in downtown Naperville since 1878, Anderson’s operates a second location in downtown Downers Grove. Anderson’s Bookshops was named the 2011 Bookstore of the Year by Publishers Weekly, the highest honor recognizing independent booksellers. Becky Anderson Wilkins, a co-owner of Anderson’s Books, is a 1982 alumna of North Central College and current president of the American Booksellers Association. Anderson’s Bookshops’ Naperville store is located at 123 W. Jefferson Ave. Visit andersonsbookshop.com or call 630-355-2665 to learn more.
