Hope Cotter

Hope Cotter is a novelist, poet, and essayist whose work explores identity, belonging, family, and the often complicated process of becoming oneself.

Her debut historical novel, Thomas Mann’s Lost Diaries, will be published by She Writes Press in 2027. Set against the rise of fascism and the displacement of European intellectuals, the novel examines the intimate tensions between artistic ambition, political conviction, and family loyalty.

Her personal essay, “Because the Night Belongs to Mothers,” was recognized by Reader’s Digest in 2024. Her poetry and prose have appeared in literary publications and writing festivals.

Cotter is also at work on a memoir, Finding the Shape of Hope, exploring motherhood, marriage, loss, and reinvention.

A graduate of New York University, she lives in Hopewell, New Jersey, with her three sons.

Photo credit: Karin Belgrave