Alice Hoffman (born March 16, 1952) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and young-adult and

children's writer Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

, best known for her 1995 novel ''

Practical Magic ''Practical Magic'' is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film based on the 1995 novel '' Practical Magic'' by Alice Hoffman. The film was directed by Griffin Dunne and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, ...

'', which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name. Many of her works fall into the

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

magic realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical re ...

and contain elements of magic,

irony Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

, and non-standard romances and relationships.

Early life and education

Alice Hoffman was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and raised on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Her grandmother was a

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

immigrant."Profile: Alice Hoffman."
Musleah, Rahel. ''Hadassah Magazine.'' Published June–July 2008. Accessed January 5, 2017. She graduated from Valley Stream North High School in 1969, and then from

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. She was a Mirrielees

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

at the

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Creative Writing Center in 1973 and 1974, where she earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

Career

When Hoffman was twenty-one and studying at Stanford, her first short story, "At the Drive-In", was published in Volume 3 of the literary magazine ''

Fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

''. Editor Ted Solotaroff contacted her, and asked whether she had a novel. At that point, she began writing her first novel, ''Property Of''. It was published in 1977, by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

, now a division of

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

. A section of ''Property Of'' was published in Solotaroff's literary magazine, '' American Review''. Hoffman's first job was at Doubleday, which later published two of her novels. She was the recipient of a New Jersey Notable Book Award for ''Ice Queen''. She won a Hammett Prize for ''Turtle Moon''. She wrote the screenplay for the 1983 film ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

'', starring

Kathleen Quinlan Kathleen Denise Quinlan (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel ''I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (film), I Never Promised ...

and

Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986's ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994's '' Bullets Over Broadway'' (both directed by Woody Allen), one Gold ...

. In September 2019 Hoffman released ''The World That We Knew'' based on a true story told to her by a fan at a book signing. The woman confided to Hoffman that during World War 2, her Jewish parents had her live with non-Jewish people to escape the Nazis. These were known as "hidden children" and Hoffman thought about this woman and her unusual upbringing for years before deciding to travel to Europe and learn more. The third novel in her "Practical Magic" series, ''Magic Lessons'', was released in October 2020. This prequel takes place in the 17th century and explores the life of Maria Owens, the family matriarch. For Scholastic Press, Hoffman has also written the young adult novels ''Indigo'', ''Green Ange''l, and its sequel, ''Green Witch''. With her son Wolfe Martin, she wrote the picture book ''Moondog''. In 2015, Hoffman donated her archives to her alma mater,

Personal life

Hoffman resides in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. After being treated for

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

at Mount Auburn Hospital in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, she helped establish the hospital's Hoffman Breast Center.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''Property Of'' (1977) * ''The Drowning Season'' (1979) * ''Angel Landing'' (1980) * ''White Horses'' (1982) * ''Fortune's Daughter'' (1985) * ''Illumination Night'' (1987) * '' At Risk'' (1988) * ''Seventh Heaven'' (1990) * ''Turtle Moon'' (1992) * ''Second Nature'' (1994) * ''

'' (1995) * '' Here on Earth'' (1997) * ''Local Girls'' (1999) * ''The River King'' (2000) * ''Blue Diary'' (2001) * ''The Probable Future'' (2003) * '' Blackbird House'' (2004) * '' The Ice Queen'' (2005) * ''Skylight Confessions'' (2007) * ''The Third Angel'' (2008) * '' The Story Sisters'' (2009) * ''The Red Garden'' (2011) * '' The Dovekeepers'' (2011) * ''The Museum of Extraordinary Things'' (2014) * ''The Marriage of Opposites'' (2015) * ''Faithful'' (2016) * ''The Rules of Magic'' (2017) – prequel to ''Practical Magic'' * ''The World That We Knew'' (2019) * ''Magic Lessons'' (2020) - prequel to ''Practical Magic'' * ''The Book of Magic'' (2021) - sequel to ''Practical Magic'' * ''The Invisible Hour'' (2023) * ''When We Flew Away'' (2024)

Young adult novels

* '' Aquamarine'' (2001) * ''

Indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

'' (2002) * '' Green Angel'' (2003) * ''Water Tales: Aquamarine & Indigo'' (omnibus edition) (2003) * ''The Foretelling'' (2005) * ''Incantation'' (2006) * ''Green Witch'' (sequel to Green Angel) (2010) * ''Green Heart'' (omnibus of Green Angel & Green Witch) (2012)

Middle grade books

* ''Nightbird'' (2015)

Children's books

* ''Fireflies: A Winter's Tale'' (illustrated by Wayne McLoughlin) (1999) * ''Horsefly'' (paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher) (2000) * ''Moondog'' (with Wolfe Martin; illustrated by Yumi Heo) (2004)

Short stories

* ''Conjure'' (2014)

Nonfiction

* ''Survival Lessons'' (2013)

Filmography

*''

'' (1983) (writer) *''

'' (1998) (novel) *''Sudbury'' (2004) (novel) *'' The River King'' (2005) (novel) *'' Aquamarine'' (2006) (novel) *'' The Dovekeepers'' (2014) (novel)

References

External links

Alice Hoffman's website
* *
Jewish Women's Archive page

Radio Interview on WFMT's Writers on the Record with Victoria Lautman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Alice 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American children's writers American people of Russian-Jewish descent American women novelists Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts People from Franklin Square, New York Novelists from New York City Stanford University alumni Adelphi University alumni 1952 births Living people Magic realism writers American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Valley Stream North High School alumni Novelists from Massachusetts Jewish American novelists American women science fiction and fantasy writers 21st-century American Jews