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, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

, with Drew Barrymore 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, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in En ...

and graduated from

Lyman Hall High School Lyman Hall High School is a public high school located at 70 Pond Hill Road in Wallingford, Connecticut. It is part of the Wallingford Public School System, and one of two public high schools in Wallingford, Mark T. Sheehan being the other. Hist ...

. Donofrio studied literature at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

and earned an MFA from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Career

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

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

Sunday Magazine'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

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

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'', ''

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. Overview It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...

'', and ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

''. Donofrio has taught writing at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

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

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

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 b ...

Personal life

Donofrio lives in

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

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 Women autobiographers American women academics