Independent booksellers across the country have chosen Ann Patchett's Whistler (Harper) as their top pick for the June 2026 Indie Next List. 
“Ann Patchett is a master storyteller. She has given us the gift of another beautiful novel with layers of stories within stories. This is a tale about how the past never stays in the past and how we need to tell our stories to heal and change the narrative,” said Amy Graham of The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury, Vermont.
Here, Patchett discusses her work with Bookselling This Week.
Bookselling This Week: In a previous interview, you mentioned that you dropped the book you were working on when the idea for Whistler came to you. What was that initial idea for Whistler? What about this story hit you so hard or demanded you tell it?
Ann Patchett: The original idea had to do with Nell, who was the youngest of the three daughters in Tom Lake, moving to Bushwick with a crummy boyfriend. She wanted to be an actress but wound up working in a cupcake shop. Nothing about it was working but I liked the characters. When I finally let it go (deleted it), the idea for Whistler came to me very quickly. I wouldn't say it hit me hard or demanded I tell it. It was just a much better idea for a novel.
BTW: This is an introspective book that almost feels like the reader is just another member of the discussion — like we’re sitting at that cafe table with Daphne and Eddie. What was the process of developing the tone of this novel? Had it read this way from the beginning or did that develop over time?
AP: It was always like that, and it wasn't a decision to try and achieve a more intimate tone. This is just a story about two people who love each other very much. That's what gives it the intimacy.
BTW: It seems like a lot of early readers have found comfort in this novel, or are finding it prompted them to think back on their lives. What are you hoping readers walk away from Whistler with?
AP: I believe that if a child has one person who truly sees them and believes in them, it can change that child's life. Maybe people remember someone like this from their own lives when they read this. That would be a comforting thought.
BTW: Parnassus Books opened in 2011, so happy 15th anniversary to your shop! How has owning a bookstore and being a bookseller changed your relationship with writing?
AP: It's certainly changed my relationship to reading. I read so many galleys now, books that haven't come out yet. I also have a sense of the books I wish were there and aren't. Those are the books I need to write.