Hoke Marion Norris was born on October 8, 1913 in Holly Springs, North Carolina. He received his A. B. from Wake Forest College (now Wake Forest University) in 1934, and began his career in journalism as a reporter at the Elizabeth City, N.C. Daily Advance. In 1936 he moved to the Raleigh, N.C. News and Observer, then became reporter-editor at the Associated Press in Raleigh and Charlotte. Norris spent 1942-1946 in the Southwest Pacific Theater as a captain for combat intelligence in the Army Air Force. He returned to the Associated Press in 1946, then worked as reporter and editorial writer for the Winston-Salem Journal-Sentinel, and in 1950 he received a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.

Norris left North Carolina in 1955 to work as a reporter (1955-1958), and literary editor (1958-1968), at the Chicago Sun-Times. During the 1960's he played a significant role in reporting the events surrounding Civil Rights movement in the South. After leaving the Sun-Times, Norris served on the editorial board of the Chicago Daily News from 1968-1970, and taught creative writing at the University of Chicago. In 1971, Norris became the Director of Public Information at the Chicago Public Library, where he worked until 1974. He then served as the Assistant Vice-President for Public Affairs and Director of the Office of Public Information at the University of Chicago until 1976.

In addition to his contributions to newspapers, Norris edited and wrote short stories, magazine articles, and novels. These publications include the 1956 novel All the Kingdoms of the Earth; a 1962 collection of writings about segregation entitled We Dissent; and the 1968 novel It's Not Far But I Don't Know the Way. His short stories were published in Cavalier, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Gallery, Genesis, Playboy, and several literary journals.

Hoke Norris was married to Edna Dees Rackley Norris and had one daughter, Marion Dees Norris. He died on July 8, 1977 at the age of 63.