Rodham
Page 43
In a few instances, this novel incorporates verbatim words spoken during real-life public events. Passages include Thurgood Marshall’s 1991 retirement press conference; Bill Clinton’s 1991 presidential campaign announcement; Anita Hill’s testimony during Clarence Thomas’s 1991 confirmation hearing; Carol Moseley Braun’s 1991 Senate campaign announcement; Bill Clinton’s 1992 60 Minutes interview; and Donald Trump’s 2015 presidential campaign announcement.
As I wrote, I asked many questions of various people. I truly don’t have the words to express to Rebecca Hollander-Blumoff and Susan Appleton my gratitude and respect for their intelligence and good humor. P. G. Sittenfeld and Ellen Battistelli also gamely answered countless text queries. Diana Mallon, Sarah Sittenfeld, and Paul De Marco let me interview them about their areas of expertise. Kim and Chris Smith gave permission to borrow a good story, as did Susanna Daniel. In early 2016, Tyler Cabot and David Granger offered a magazine assignment that became part of my inspiration for this book. And since the mid-1970s, Betsy and Paul Sittenfeld have provided encouragement, literary and otherwise.
My smart early readers included Emily Bazelon, Jennifer Weiner, Emily Miller, Tiernan Sittenfeld, Josephine Sittenfeld, P. G. Sittenfeld, Matt Carlson, and Julius Ramsay.
One might say that the publication of a novel takes a village. I’m so lucky to be part of a village that includes my brilliant editor Jennifer Hershey and my exceptionally talented publicist Maria Braeckel. I’m deeply grateful for the wisdom and competence of Marianne Velmans, Patsy Irwin, and Tabitha Pelly. And I am awash in excellent agents, including Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Tracy Fisher, Claudia Ballard, and Jill Gillet. Also looking out for me at WME are Suzanne Gluck, Fiona Baird, Alicia Everett, Alyssa Eatherly, Camille Morgan, and Sabrina Taitz. Also looking out for me at Random House are Gina Centrello, Andy Ward, Avideh Bashirrad, Susan Corcoran, Theresa Zoro, Leigh Marchant, Barbara Fillon, Jessica Bonet, Sophie Vershbow, Vincent La Scala, Janet Wygal, Benjamin Dreyer, Jordan Pace, Erin Kane, Paolo Pepe, Robbin Schiff, and Elizabeth Eno. Also looking out for me at Transworld are Larry Finlay, Jane Lawson, and Jo Thomson. See? It really does take a village.
Finally, I’m thankful to my family. You’re so creative and funny, and you fill my life with joy.
BY CURTIS SITTENFELD
Rodham
You Think It, I’ll Say It
Eligible
Sisterland
American Wife
The Man of My Dreams
Prep
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CURTIS SITTENFELD is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Prep, The Man of My Dreams, American Wife, Sisterland, and Eligible, and the story collection You Think It, I’ll Say It, which have been translated into thirty languages. Her short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington Post Magazine, Esquire, and The Best American Short Stories, of which she is the 2020 guest editor. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, and Vanity Fair and on public radio’s This American Life.
curtissittenfeld.com
Facebook.com/curtissittenfeldbooks
Twitter: @csittenfeld
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