I am a writer and artist based in Oakland, California. My work generally involves acts of close observation, whether it's birdwatching, collecting screen shots, researching trash, or trying to parse bizarre forms of e-commerce. In general, I am compelled by new frameworks that allow us to perceive something new about everyday reality.
My first book, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, was published in 2019, and my second book, Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, is now available for preorder. You can see my other writing here.
My visual work has been exhibited at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, the New York Public Library, the Marjorie Barrick Museum (Las Vegas), Les Rencontres D'Arles, Fotomuseum Antwerpen, Fotomuseum Winterthur, La Gaîté Lyrique (Paris), the Lishui Photography Festival (China), and apexart (NY). I have been an artist in residence at Recology SF (the dump), the San Francisco Planning Department, the Internet Archive, and the Montalvo Arts Center. From 2013 to 2021, I taught digital art at Stanford University.
recent
- "What Twitter Does to Our Sense of Time" (New York Times)
- starred review of Saving Time (Publishers Weekly)
selected conversations
- Finding Our Way with Prentis Hemphill (2022, audio + transcript)
- NPR's LifeKit: "How paying attention can help you appreciate what's right in front of you" (2022, audio + transcript)
- The Believer: "Jenny Odell Considers New Temporal Realities" (2021, transcript)
- NPR: "Margaret Atwood And Jenny Odell On The Joys Of Birdwatching" (2021, audio)
- The Creative Independent (2020, transcript)
- The Ezra Klein Show (2019, audio)
- The Longform podcast (2019, audio)
contact
- Agent: Caroline Eisenmann (ce@goldinlit.com), Frances Goldin Literary Agency
- Publicity queries: Carrie Neill (cneill@penguinrandomhouse.com)
- Speaking queries: Stasia Whalen (swhalen@penguinrandomhouse.com)