Benjamin L. Hoff

Hailing from a family of avid readers, Benjamin L. Hoff spent many hours reading books in his childhood bed. Before setting out to create a profession out of writing, his first work for public consumption occurred in the third grade when he wrote for the school newsletter. This initial experience lit a fire in him, as he is now an internationally renowned author spanning three decades. Mr. Hoff received a Bachelor of Arts from Evergreen State College in 1973 and commenced a career as an investigative photojournalist. Likewise, he dabbled within the areas of tree pruning, songwriting and singing, as he was the lead guitarist in the rock ‘n’ roll bands United Travel Service and The Redondos.

Notably, Mr. Hoff is the author of the best-selling books “The Tao of Pooh” from 1982 and “The Te of Piglet” from 1992. Distinguished for their explanation of the Chinese philosophy of Taoism through the popular characters of Pooh and Piglet, the books remained on The New York Times’ bestseller list between 49 and 59 weeks. In addition, Mr. Hoff is the author of, “The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow: The Rediscovered Diary of Opal Whiteley” from 1986, a biography on Opal Whiteley, an eminent author and nature teacher whose childhood dairies have been read and analyzed since the early 1920s. Acknowledged as a “cult classic,” the book won the American Book Award in 1988 and is most credited as the foundation to the intrigue surrounding Opal Whiteley.

Listed in the New York Times’ Bestselling Paperback Authors in 1994, Mr. Hoff attributes his success to hard work and his desire to writer about unusual subjects in a way that readers can understand.   He defines success as “doing what you love and being paid for it,” or “doing what you believe is important and getting paid for it.” In the coming years, Mr. Hoff aims to have his latest manuscript published and is designing a line of guitars. His advice to aspiring authors is to not to listen to people’s advice, as many established writers tend to be discouraging toward new writers. He adds, forge your own path and stay true to your creativity.