Cara Hoffman
Encyclopedia
Cara Hoffman is a New York City
based novelist and journalist
. Simon & Schuster
published So Much Pretty
, her first novel, on March 15, 2011. She was born in rural New York State and has one son.
and ballet
. Hoffman dropped out of High School and lived in Europe
in her late teens, settling in Athens
, Greece
where she worked in a hotel (1).
She became interested in small press
, collective, and anti-authoritarian
publishing in the early 2000s. In 2004 she published an unedited, print-on-demand roman a clef
which told of her stay in Athens. She published a collection of short stories with the education and learning collective Factory School.
Hoffman worked for a number of publications including Fifth Estate
, the longest running anti-authoritarian magazine in North America
. She taught writing at Loaves and Fishes, a soup kitchen
in Ithaca, New York
and later taught English at Lehman Alternative Community School
and worked as an adjunct professor at Tompkins Cortland Community College
.
in 2006, for the Renewing the Anarchist Tradition
Conference, she decided to pursue an MFA despite her lack of a high school or undergraduate diploma (2).
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
based novelist and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
published So Much Pretty
So Much Pretty
So Much Pretty is the debut novel of Cara Hoffman, published by Simon and Schuster and released on March 15, 2011.-Plot:So Much Pretty is about a young woman, Wendy White, who goes missing from her small town and is found murdered several months later...
, her first novel, on March 15, 2011. She was born in rural New York State and has one son.
Early years
Hoffman grew up in upstate New York. She has two brothers. As a child and adolescent she studied musicMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
. Hoffman dropped out of High School and lived in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in her late teens, settling in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
where she worked in a hotel (1).
Career
After returning to the United States, she gave birth to her son, worked delivering papers and worked her way up as an investigative reporter. Hoffman worked at several newspapers in New York state. She has called her career path a very “1940s trajectory"(2).She became interested in small press
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
, collective, and anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as a "political doctrine advocating the principle of absolute rule: absolutism, autocracy, despotism, dictatorship, totalitarianism." Anti-authoritarians usually believe in full equality before the law and strong civil...
publishing in the early 2000s. In 2004 she published an unedited, print-on-demand roman a clef
Roman à clef
Roman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
which told of her stay in Athens. She published a collection of short stories with the education and learning collective Factory School.
Hoffman worked for a number of publications including Fifth Estate
Fifth Estate
Fifth Estate is a US periodical, originally based in Detroit, Michigan, but now produced in a variety of locations. Its editorial collective shares divergent views on the topics the magazine addresses but generally shares an anti-authoritarian outlook and a non-dogmatic, action-oriented approach...
, the longest running anti-authoritarian magazine in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. She taught writing at Loaves and Fishes, a soup kitchen
Soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...
in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
and later taught English at Lehman Alternative Community School
Lehman Alternative Community School
The Lehman Alternative Community School is a nationally renowned public, educational alternative, combined middle and high school in the Ithaca City School District in Ithaca, New York. Serving grades 6-12 with approximately 305 students, the school is known for its small class size,...
and worked as an adjunct professor at Tompkins Cortland Community College
Tompkins Cortland Community College
Tompkins Cortland Community College is a public two-year college supported by Cortland and Tompkins Counties. The main college campus is located in the Town of Dryden. Extension sites are located in Cortland, New York and Ithaca, New York...
.
Education
Hoffman believes her nontraditional education allowed her to become a reporter who focused on educating the community, not selling papers. In the 2000s, she began exploring the idea of writing fiction, instead of journalism. While lecturing at Goddard CollegeGoddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
in 2006, for the Renewing the Anarchist Tradition
Renewing the Anarchist Tradition
Renewing the Anarchist Tradition is an annual conference of anarchist intellectuals. Started in 1997, it has brought together anarchists and anti-authoritarian scholars and activists desiring to critically engage both with the tradition itself and the world at large...
Conference, she decided to pursue an MFA despite her lack of a high school or undergraduate diploma (2).