Ann Hood

Education

• B.A. in English, University of Rhode Island (1978)
• M.A. in English, New York University (1984)

Ann Hood has written more than a dozen novels, including the bestsellers "The Knitting Circle," "The Obituary Writer" and "The Book That Matters Most." Her debut novel, the best-seller "Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine," has been in print since 1987. She has also written five memoirs, including "Comfort: A Journey Through Grief," which is the story of losing her 5-year-old daughter Grace from a virulent form of strep in 2002. The book was a New York Times Editors' Choice and was named one of the top 10 nonfiction books of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly.

Hood has also written "The Treasure Chest," a 10-book series for middle readers, and two novels for young adults: "She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah)" and "Jude Banks, Superhero." She has edited "Providence Noir," part of Akashic Books' popular Noir series, as well as "Knitting Yarns" and "Knitting Pearls," two anthologies of writers writing about knitting.

Hood's essays and short stories have appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Food and Wine, Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, The Paris Review and many more. She has won two Pushcart Prizes, two Best American Food Writing awards, a Best American Travel Writing award and a Best American Spiritual Writing award.

Hood's most recent book is her memoir, "Fly Girl," about her eight years as a TWA flight attendant from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, spanning the Golden Age of Flying through deregulation and the beginning of vast system-wide changes. She splits her time between Providence and New York City with her husband, the food writer Michael Ruhlman.