An Interview with Author Janet Fitch by Jennifer Minar

Writer's Break recently had the honor of conducting an interview with Janet Fitch, bestselling author of the acclaimed debut novel, White Oleander (Little, Brown, 1999).

White Oleander is the heart-wrenching story of feminist poet and single mother Ingrid Magnussen, who murders her ex-lover and is sent to prison, leaving her thirteen-year-old daughter, Astrid, in the hands of the Los Angeles foster-care system. There, Astrid bounces from trailer park to tract house to Hollywood bungalow, falling victim to an assortment of horrific situations.

Formerly a short story, White Oleander was named as a distinguished story in Best American Short Stories 1994. In May 1999, the novel was named an Oprah Book Club pick, and in 2002, the story became a Hollywood film which starred actresses Michele Pfeiffer and Rene Zellweger.

During the interview, we spoke to Fitch about White Oleander, her phenomenal success, and her journey with writing. Here's what she told us.

When did you become interested in writing fiction?

I was always a great reader. I tried writing fiction as a little kid, but had a teacher humiliate me, so didn't write again until I was a senior in college. I just read everything I could get my hands on all the time.

Before publishing White Oleander, you worked as an editor for American Film magazine and a weekly newspaper. Did these experiences at all help you with writing the novel? If so, in what way(s)?

I guess they protect you somewhat from writers' block. In journalism it's 'good enough in the time you've got.' But in general, no they just paid the bills.

Did you experience rejection before becoming published? How did you cope with it (rejection)?

It took me ten years to publish my first short story, twenty before White Oleander. I was writing the whole time and being rejected regularly. When I published my very first book, a young adult novel, I had a party and pasted all my rejections on the walls of my living room. They covered four walls from baseboard to over my head. I dealt with it by hating the people rejecting me, combined with learning whenever an editor was kind enough to make an actual comment.

You’ve lived the dream most writers covet: having your book chosen as an Oprah Book Club pick. How has this experience affected you?

It threw me like nobody's business. It's taken me years to settle down from the fallout. On the other hand, people who never took me seriously before now listen when I say something. I feel ambivalent about this.

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