Hi all,

You may have recently seen, on my social media, an unboxing video of me unveiling the first advance reader copies of Wish You Were Here. (Far be it from me to admit that I’m old…but…what’s up with unboxing videos? I mean, it’s a box. There’s something in it. Shocker.) I knew, of course, what I was going to see when I revealed the books – but I have to admit – it never gets old seeing a new novel in print for the first time. It’s a lot like having babies. Just because you love one doesn’t mean that the next kid isn’t just as miraculous. This is also the hardest time in the publishing process for me – because I so desperately want you all to read this new novel, and you can’t technically read it until it hits shelves in November. (The copies printed in advance are limited and go to publishing folks – librarians and book buyers and book influencers.)  I know you’re as anxious to read it as I am to have you read it. Especially because it does cover the past seventeen months, when we have had our worlds rocked by a pandemic – and there’s new uneasiness brewing due to the Delta variant. I do not know if I’ve ever written a book before that EVERYONE will be able to relate to – because we’ve all experienced this pandemic, and we are all in the process of grieving our losses and trying to understand what we’ve learned from it. I have been curiously (and avidly) reading advance reader comments, and in the 27 years I’ve been writing, I have never had this many uniform raves or five-star reviews. I’m so grateful.  

I’ve been asked by many of you if I will tour for this book. The answer is – yes, IF. If we don’t wind up in another lockdown; if it’s safe for me and my asthmatic lungs to travel; if enough vaccinated people feel safe enough to congregate and see me in person. If you are still wavering about getting a vaccine – maybe my potential book tour will be the thing that makes you do it. I certainly hope so. In the meantime, the pub date of November 30 is just around the corner…and I promise, it’s worth waiting for.

XO,
Jodi

Preorder Wish You Were Here from a participating local bookseller and you’ll receive a signed copy! I’m thrilled to partner with and help support independent bookstores across the country for this special offer.

Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s an associate specialist at Sotheby’s now, but her boss has hinted at a promotion if she can close a deal with a high-profile client. She’s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galapagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.

But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It’s all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.

Almost immediately, Diana’s dream vacation goes awry. Her luggage is lost, the Wi-Fi is nearly nonexistent, and the hotel they’d booked is shut down due to the pandemic. In fact, the whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. Slowly, she carves out a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to Diana, despite her father’s suspicion of outsiders.

In the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin’s theory of natural selection was formed, Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself—and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.

Available in the US and Canada on 11/30/21
Available in the UK, Australia and NZ on 11/25/21

The NEW paperback edition is now available for preorder! It includes a Q&A with Jodi and Jojo Moyes, plus an excerpt from Wish You Were Here!

Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She's on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband, but a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.

Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, her beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, where she helps ease the transition between life and death for patients in hospice.

But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a job she once studied for, but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.

On sale in US/CA: 9/7/21
On sale in UK: 8/19/21
Ask Jodi: Answers To Your Questions 

Q: What are you listening to?
JP: “A Moment Forever Ago” from Central Park the TV show, written by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, my songwriters for Between the Lines and The Book Thief. It’s just gorgeous.

Q: What are you reading?
JP: The rest of Throne of Glass, the Kingdom of Blood & Ash series by Jen Armentrout, and Sabaa Tahir’s new upcoming contemporary YA novel (it’s amazing).

Q: What are you watching?
JP: Schmigadoon! (OMG it’s brilliant) and the Olympics.

My unboxing of Wish You Were Here advance copies?

I just stayed up until 3am reading the ARC of Wish You Were Here. I am always profoundly affected by your work. 

Order your paperback copy of international #1 bestseller, A Spark of Light, which includes a Q&A with Jodi and book club discussion questions.

So looking forward to reading this (Wish You Were Here). I met you two months after my soulmate passed away and you and your books helped me in so many ways. I never had a favorite author until I picked up one of your books.

The paperback edition includes a reading group guide plus a Q&A with author Celeste Ng!

Congratulations to Emilie, this month's free signed book winner.

Each month, one person will be chosen from my newsletter subscribers or Facebook fans as a winner of a free signed edition of my latest book.

CT Insider
“Small Great Things approaches race in America by telling the story of Ruth Jefferson, a Black nurse who is charged with murder after the baby of a white supremacist couple dies in her care. Jodi Picoult, born in New York, has published 25 other novels.”

Digital Spy
“Additionally, King will produce and star in A Spark of Light, a limited series for Hulu, which is based on a book of the same name by Jodi Picoult.”