Bucknell Forum to Present 'New York Times' Bestselling Author Jodi Picoult

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult will be the next speaker in the Bucknell Forum 2023-24 speaker series, presenting in a moderated discussion with Bucknell President John Bravman on the theme 'Freedom of Expression' Tuesday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts. She will then engage in a limited Q&A session, where she will answer questions from Bucknell students.

Picoult is the third of five nationally renowned speakers participating in this year’s Bucknell Forum — a speaker series that since 2007 has featured national leaders, scholars and commentators who have examined various issues from multidisciplinary and diverse viewpoints.

About Jodi Picoult
Picoult is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of 30 novels. Her books have been translated into 34 languages in 25 countries.

Four novels — The Pact, Plain Truth, The Tenth Circle, and Salem Falls — have been made into television movies. My Sister's Keeper was adapted into a film released from New Line Cinema, directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Cameron Diaz. Mad Honey is currently in development for a series or film. Small Great Things is also undergoing adaptation for a motion picture, featuring Viola Davis and Julia Roberts in a drama about a Black nurse who finds herself caring for the newborn baby of white supremacists. Additionally, she wrote five issues of DC Comics' Wonder Woman.

Picoult is the co-librettist for the stage musical adaptation of her two Young Adult novels, Between The Lines and Off The Page, both co-written with her daughter, Samantha van Leer. The musical premiered off-Broadway in the summer of 2021 and was licensed through Music Theatre International during the fall of 2022. She also served as the co-librettist for the musical Breathe, which was inducted into the Library of Congress's Performing Arts COVID-19 Response Collection, and of the musical adaptation of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which played at the Coventry Belgrade and the Leicester Curve in the fall of 2023.

Picoult is the recipient of many awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association, a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America, the New Hampshire 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. Additionally, she serves as a patron of the Carole Shields Prize for Fiction, which is awarded to female fiction writers.

Event Information
All Bucknell Forum events are free and open to the public, although tickets are required.

Current Bucknell students and employees may receive up to two free tickets at any Campus Box Office location, or online, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, a day prior to the event. A valid Bucknell University ID is required to receive advance tickets. Use of multiple Bucknell IDs to pick up additional sets of tickets is prohibited.

The remaining tickets will be available for the general public at the Weis Center box office beginning at 6 p.m. on the event day. All individuals may receive up to two free tickets, depending on availability.

An ASL interpreter will be signing at the event for the hearing-impaired community. Attendees who need this service should contact sebright@bucknell.edu for seating arrangements.

Questions regarding this event may be directed to the Division of Communications at 570-577-3260 or theforum@bucknell.edu.

This event will be recorded and broadcast on WVIA-TV, the local PBS network affiliate, on these dates and times:

• Thursday, Feb. 8, 9 p.m.
• Friday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 11, noon
• Thursday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m.
• Friday, Feb. 16, 4 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 18, 1 p.m.

Remaining Bucknell Forum Speakers
All remaining speakers in this year’s Bucknell Forum will appear in person at 7:30 p.m. on these dates:

• New York Times bestselling author, journalist and activist George M. Johnson Tuesday, Feb. 27, in Trout Auditorium.
• Academy Award-winning actor and activist Jane Fonda Tuesday, March 19, in the Weis Center.