Editing Jonathan Franzen (section)

=== ''Freedom'' ===
{{main|Freedom (Franzen novel)}}
{{external media| float = right| width = 230px | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?296688-14/freedom-novel Presentation by Franzen on ''Freedom: A Novel'' at the Miami Book Fair International, November 21, 2010], [[C-SPAN]]}}
[[File:Jonathan Franzen at the Brooklyn Book Festival.jpg|thumb|Franzen at the 2008 [[Brooklyn Book Festival]]]]
On June 8, 2009, Franzen published an excerpt from ''Freedom'', his novel in progress, in ''The New Yorker''. The excerpt, titled "Good Neighbors", concerned the trials and tribulations of a couple in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]]. On May 31, 2010, a second excerpt — titled "Agreeable" — was published, also in ''The New Yorker''.<ref name="Agreeable">{{citation |url= https://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/05/31/100531fi_fiction_franzen |magazine= The New Yorker |title= Agreeable |author= Jonathan Franzen |date= May 31, 2010 |access-date= April 16, 2020 |archive-date= June 3, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140603170149/http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/05/31/100531fi_fiction_franzen |url-status= live }}</ref>

On October 16, 2009, Franzen made an appearance alongside David Bezmozgis at the ''New Yorker Festival'' at the Cedar Lake Theatre, reading a portion of his forthcoming novel.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/festival/schedule/index/friday#bezmozgis|title=Festival|magazine=The New Yorker|date=January 7, 2009|access-date=March 15, 2010|archive-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921023212/http://www.newyorker.com/festival/schedule/index/friday#bezmozgis|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="northbynorthwestern1">{{cite news|url=http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2009/11/55140/the-franzen-interface/|title=The Franzen Interface|work=North by Northwestern|access-date=March 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714194929/http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2009/11/55140/the-franzen-interface/|archive-date=July 14, 2011}}</ref> Sam Allard, writing for North By Northwestern about the event, said that the "...material from his new (reportedly massive) novel" was "as buoyant and compelling as ever" and "marked by his familiar undercurrent of tragedy". Franzen read "an extended clip from the second chapter."<ref name="northbynorthwestern1"/>

On September 9, 2010, Franzen appeared on ''[[Fresh Air]]'' to discuss ''Freedom'' in the wake of its release. Franzen has drawn what he describes as a "feminist critique" for the attention that male authors receive over female authors—a critique he supports. Franzen also discussed his friendship with [[David Foster Wallace]] and the impact of Wallace's suicide on his writing process.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129747555|title=Franzen On The Book, The Backlash, His Background|work=Fresh Air|publisher=NPR|date=September 9, 2010|access-date=September 10, 2010|archive-date=November 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105181847/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129747555|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Freedom'' was the subject of a highly unusual "recall" in the United Kingdom starting in early October 2010. An earlier draft of the manuscript, to which Franzen had made over 200 changes, had been published by mistake. The publisher, [[HarperCollins]], initiated an exchange program, but thousands of books had been distributed by that time.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Alison|last1=Flood|first2=Rowenna|last2=Davis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/01/jonathan-franzen-freedom-uk-recall|title=Jonathan Franzen's book Freedom suffers UK recall|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=October 1, 2010|access-date=December 11, 2016|archive-date=July 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706131447/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/01/jonathan-franzen-freedom-uk-recall|url-status=live}}</ref>

While promoting the book, Franzen became the first American author to appear on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine since [[Stephen King]] in 2000. Franzen appeared alongside the headline "Great American Novelist".<ref name="millions_time_franzen_cover">{{cite news |last=Fehrman |first=Craig |date=August 16, 2010 |title=The Franzen Cover and a Brief History of Time |work=[[The Millions]] |url=http://www.themillions.com/2010/08/the-franzen-cover-and-a-brief-history-of-time.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210050751/https://themillions.com/2010/08/the-franzen-cover-and-a-brief-history-of-time.html |archive-date=December 10, 2019}}</ref> He discussed the implications of the ''Time'' coverage, and the reasoning behind the title of ''Freedom'' in an interview in Manchester, England, in October 2010.<ref>{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Haslam|url=http://www.davehaslam.com/Franzen.html|title=Onstage interview with celebrated American novelist Jonathan Franzen|work=Dave Haslam, Author and DJ – Official Site|date=October 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630045528/http://www.davehaslam.com/Franzen.html|archive-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref>

On September 17, 2010, Oprah Winfrey announced that Jonathan Franzen's ''Freedom'' would be an Oprah book club selection, the first of the last season of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Carolyn|last=Kellogg|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-sep-18-la-et-0918-franzen-oprah-20100918-story.html|title=Oprah's book club christens Franzen's 'Freedom'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 18, 2010|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=May 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518085802/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/18/entertainment/la-et-0918-franzen-oprah-20100918|url-status=live}}</ref> On December 6, 2010, he appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' to promote ''Freedom'' where they discussed that book and the controversy over his reservations about her picking ''The Corrections'' and what that would entail.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=12323137|title=Author Jonathan Franzen Appears on 'Oprah' Show|work=ABC News|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=February 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217071959/http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=12323137|url-status=live}}</ref>

Franzen has stated the writing of ''Freedom'' was influenced by the death of his close friend and fellow novelist David Foster Wallace.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Franzen|first=Jonathan|date=October 2, 2015|title=Jonathan Franzen: 'Modern life has become extremely distracting'|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/02/jonathan-franzen-writing-freedom|access-date=March 5, 2023|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=March 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309174833/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/02/jonathan-franzen-writing-freedom|url-status=live}}</ref>