YPL Presents: An Author Talk With Bestselling Novelist Jodi Picoult

Step into spring as New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult discusses her newest novel, By Any Other Name. 

Register here for this special event.

Watch past author talks here.

In 1581, Emilia Bassano—like most young women of her day—is allowed no voice of her own. But as the Lord Chamberlain’s mistress, she has access to all theaters in England and finds a way to secretly bring her work to the stage. And yet, creating some of the world’s greatest dramatic masterpieces comes at great cost: by paying a man for the use of his name, she will write her own out of history.

In the present, playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. Although the challenges are different four hundred years later, the playing field is still not level for women in theater. Would Melina—like Emilia—be willing to forfeit her credit as author, just for a chance to see her work performed?

Told in intertwining narratives, By Any Other Name is a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire that asks what price each woman is willing to pay to see their work live on—even if it means they will be forgotten. 

The YPL Presents: Virtual Author series is funded and supported by the Foundation for the Yonkers Public Library.

About the Author: Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 29 novels, including Mad Honey (co-authored with Jennifer Finney Boylan), Wish You Were Here, The Book of Two Ways, A Spark of Light, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, and My Sister’s Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband.