Hobson is best known for her novel Gentleman's Agreement (1947), about antisemitism in American society.

Its 1947 film adaptation, directed by Elia Kazan, won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

• Earlier in her career, she was the first woman hired at Time Inc. in a non-secretarial role, and became director of promotion for Time.

• Her father, Michael Zametkin, was a labor organizer and a co-founder of the Yiddish newspaper The Forward.