James Hoffman is the biographer of George Ryga and perhaps the foremost authority on indigenous British Columbia theatre. He is a Professor of Theatre at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a particular interest in the theatre history of British Columbia. He has published articles on B.C.'s first play, Vancouver's New Play Centre, early theatre schools in the province, Vancouver Sun theatre critic Christopher Dafoe, Sydney Risk's Everyman Theatre, and others. At present he is engaged in projects aimed at determining the historical and theoretical parameters of performance culture in British Columbia, from the early contact and settler periods to the present.

The Last Best West (2009) is an exploration of myth and identity pertaining to Western Canada. It arose from the Last Best West Conference in September of 2007, organized by the Centre for the Study of Canada at Thompson Rivers University, directed by Anne Gagnon.

Review of the author's work by BC Studies:
The Last Best West: An Exploration of Myth, Identity and Quality of Life in Western Canada
Playing the Pacific Province: Jim Anthology of British Columbia Plays, 1967-2000

BOOKS:

CITY/TOWN: Kamloops, B.C.

DATE OF BIRTH: 5 March 1943

PLACE OF BIRTH: Victoria, B.C.

BOOKS:

Whose Culture Is It, Anyway?: Community Engagement in Small Cities Ed. James Hoffman, W.F. Garrett-Petts, Ginny Ratsoy (New Star Books 2014) $35.00 978-1-55420-087-0

The Last Best West (New Star, 2009), with Anne Gagnon and W.F. Garrett-Petts

George Ryga: The Other Plays (Ed.) (Talonbooks, 2004)

George Ryga: The Prairie Novels (Ed.) (Talonbooks, 2004)

Playing the Pacific Province: An Anthology of British Columbia Plays, 1967-2000 (Ed., with Ginny Ratsoy) (Playwrights Canada Press, 2001)

The Ecstasy of Resistance: A Biography of George Ryga (ECW Press, 1995)

[BCBW 2009] "Theatre"