Beverly Ann Donofrio (born September 23, 1950) is an American memoirist, children's author, and creative writing teacher known for her 1992 best selling memoir, ''Riding in Cars with Boys''. The memoir was adapted into the 2001 film '' Riding in Cars with Boys'', directed by

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, film director, and producer. She is best known for ...

, with

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple List of awards and nominations received by Drew Barrymore, awards a ...

portraying Donofrio.

Early life and education

Donofrio's parents are Italian-American. She was raised in

Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The town is part ...

and graduated from Lyman Hall High School. Donofrio studied literature at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

and earned an MFA from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Career

Donofrio is a prolific essayist, having published work in numerous anthologies, in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

Sunday Magazine'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', and in such magazines as '' Allure'', ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

'', ''

O, The Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. In 2021, Winfrey and Hearst rebranded it as ''Oprah Daily''. Overview It was first pu ...

'', and ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

''. Donofrio has taught writing at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

, among other institutions. She teaches at the Low Residency MFA Program in

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 ...

Wilkes University Wilkes University is a private university in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students (both full and part-time). Wilkes was founded in 1933 as a satellite campus of Bucknell University, and bec ...

Personal life

Donofrio lives in

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 * ...

State.

Works

Memoirs

* 1992: ''Riding in Cars with Boys'' * 2001: ''Looking for Mary, or the Blessed Mother and Me'' * 2013: ''Astonished, a Story of Evil, Blessings, Grace, and Solace'' (Viking/Penguin)

Children's books

* 2007: ''Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary'' (Random House) * 2008: ''Thank You, Lucky Stars'' (Random House)

References

External links

Official websiteSan Miguel workshopsOssabaw Island Writers' Retreat, Savannah, GA
* Essay in The Face in the Mirror: Writers Reflect on Their Dreams of Youth and the Reality of Age {{DEFAULTSORT:Donofrio, Beverly Living people Wesleyan University alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni American children's writers American autobiographers Wilkes University faculty People from Wallingford, Connecticut 1950 births 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American women autobiographers American women academics Memoirists from Connecticut American women memoirists