When we first spoke to Jenny Jackson in 2023 for her novel Pineapple Street, we introduced her as someone whose work you were likely familiar with, even if you didn’t know her name.
You see, Jackson is the Vice President and Editorial Director of Fiction at Knopf, and she’s edited Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. She’s worked with authors Cormac McCarthy and Peter Heller. And she was also the editor of Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke.
Jackson told me that at any given time, she’s working with twenty novels in various stages of the publication process.
Despite this heavy workload, Jenny Jackson is back with another novel of her own, The Shampoo Effect. Set in the fictional town of Greenhead, Massachusetts, the story rotates among perspectives of lifelong friends after a young writer comes to town, throwing off the group dynamics. I was thrilled to be able to speak with Jenny Jackson again about this new novel. Here’s our conversation.
The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson was published by Pamela Dorman Books.
Book critic Suzanne Perez looks at a new novel that manages to be sentimental without being saccharine.
Whistler by Ann Patchett was published by Harper.
Today is the 4th of July. The 250th anniversary of America’s declaration of independence from British rule. The nation is celebrating its freedom today, but I want to talk about a different freedom. My freedom. Specifically, my freedom from impending reading deadlines. I’m currently caught up with my reading for upcoming interviews. Now, I don’t want to sound smug, but I am enjoying the idea that I can read whatever I want. But it's also daunting. So I need some suggestions. What book should I read next? I have one friend who thinks I should read Milton’s Paradise Lost. My daughter loaned me her copy of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove as a gesture of encouragement. Suzanne Perez desperately wants me to read Good People by Patmina Sabit. But I want to hear from you. Please email your reading suggestions to me at golay@kmuw.org. I look forward to reading them.
Editors: Lu Anne Stephens & Haley Crowson
Producer: Haley Crowson
Theme Music: Torin Andersen
Host: Beth Golay
