Gore, Kristin 1977-

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GORE, Kristin 1977-

(Kristin C. Gore)

PERSONAL: Born June 5, 1977, in Carthage, TN; daughter of Albert (a politician) and Tipper Gore; married Paul Cusack, April 2005. Education: Harvard University, graduated 1999.

ADDRESSES: Home—Boston, MA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Miramax Books, 77 W. 66th St., 11th Fl., New York, NY 10023.

CAREER: Writer. Futurama (animated television series), story editor and staff writer, 2000–03.

AWARDS, HONORS: Emmy nomination.

WRITINGS:

Sammy's Hill (novel), Miramax Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Has also written for television series Saturday Night Live and Charlie Lawrence. Contributor to Harvard Lampoon.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Adapting Sammy's Hill as a screenplay, for Columbia Pictures.

SIDELIGHTS: Many people will recognize Kristin Gore as the daughter of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, but few know that she is also an accomplished comic writer. Shortly after graduating from college, Gore joined the staff of the hit animated show Futurama, where she was the only female writer; she also wrote for the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live. However, "after writing for TV for a while, I got fed up with all of the cancellations and the volatility in that industry," Gore told Early Show interviewer Harry Smith, as quoted on the CBS News Web site. "Also, you're always writing for someone else's character and story, and I really wanted to develop my own." These feelings, along with some encouragement from her mother and Miramax chairman Harvey Weinstein, led Gore to write the novel Sammy's Hill. The title character is Samantha "Sammy" Joyce, a twenty-six-year-old staffer on Capitol Hill. Sammy attempts to serve her boss, the junior senator from Ohio, with cogent analyses of health-care policies, yet when she is not working she is struggling with not killing any more pet goldfish, trying to shoehorn the time for a succession of often ill-chosen boyfriends into her schedule, chatting with telemarketers about her love life, and worrying about what she would do if attacked by an escaped lion from the National Zoo. Despite her chronically mismatched shoes, the Snuffleupagus (the Sesame Street character) mug that she uses for coffee in the office, and her occasional e-mail goofs, she is good at what she does. She's "the most neurotic yet endearing character to come along since Bridget Jones," Stacy Alesi declared in Library Journal.

Some readers may find the idea of a Bridget Jonesian character working on Capitol Hill and actually making a difference unrealistic, but Gore, with her extensive experience of political life, begs to differ. "People think of D.C. as sort of stuffy or impenetrable," she told Newsweek contributor Sean Smith. "But I had lots of friends—and knew people on my father's campaign—who had this incredibly pure impulse to change the world and devoted their lives to it. I wanted to celebrate that and make that accessible." Reviewers did indeed find the book accessible, as well as funny. For example, Justine Van Der Leun, writing in O, called Sammy's Hill "an absurd and convincing rendering of everyday life in the political jungle" Sammy's "charming narration is guaranteed to have readers in stitches," Kristine Huntley concluded in Booklist.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 2004, Kristine Huntley, review of Sammy's Hill, p. 1871.

Bookseller, April 23, 2004, "Kristin Gore," p. 29.

Cosmopolitan, April, 1999, Sallie Brady, "Absolutely Gore-geous," p. 212; September, 2004, review of Sammy's Hill, p. 312.

Daily Variety, September 30, 2004, Addie Morfoot, "Scribe Tribe Toasts Gore," p. 23.

Entertainment Weekly, September 1, 2000, Clarissa Cruz, "Relative Merits: Family," p. 13.

Guardian, March 17, 2005, Dan Glaister, "Gore Blimey," interview with Kristin Gore.

Hollywood Reporter, October 4, 2004, Chris Gardner, "Hill at Horns."

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2004, review of Sammy's Hill, p. 595.

Library Bookwatch, March, 2005, review of Sammy's Hill.

Library Journal, August, 2004, Tania Barnes, "Q & A: Kristin Gore," p. 67, Stacy Alesi, review of Sammy's Hill, p. 67.

M2 Best Books, July 25, 2003, "Kristin Gore to Publish First Novel"; April 13, 2004, "Random House Acquires Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore."

Nashville Scene, September 16, 2004, MiChelle Jones, "Bridget Does D.C."

Newsweek, May 29, 2000, "Writing Gore's Laugh Lines," p. 4; September 6, 2004, Sean Smith, "This Gore Is No Bore: An (Almost) First Daughter Writes a Hilarious First Novel," p. 68.

O, September, 2004, Justine Van Der Leun, "Gored! A Funny Smash of a Debut Novel by a Political Scion," p. 228.

People, September 4, 2000, Steven Cojocaru, "Behind the Seams," p. 98; October 2, 2000, "Family Assets: Not Just Al's Kids Anymore, Karenna and Kristin Gore Take up the Fight for Their Father," p. 76; September 20, 2004, Anne Driscoll, "Kristin Gore: Bridget Jones Does Capitol Hill?"

Publishers Weekly, July 12, 2004, review of Sammy's Hill, p. 42; September 20, 2004, Daisy Maryles, "What Makes Sammy Run?," p. 18.

Time, August 21, 2000, Karen Tumulty, "A Comic in the Family," p. 59; August 2, 2004, Sora Song, review of Sammy's Hill, p. 89.