Gonzo Neurotic

Award-winning novelist, journalist and screenwriter, Jerry Stahl is the author of eleven books, including the best-selling novel, I, Fatty, and the narcotic memoir, Permanent Midnight, made into a movie starring Ben Stiller. His most recent work, Nein, Nein, Nein!: One Man’s Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment, and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust was included in Kirkus Reviews 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of 2022 and optioned by Robert Downey. His much-anthologized journalism and fiction have appeared in a variety of venues, including Esquire, The Believer, VICE, The New York Times, and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Stahl has written an eclectic roster of TV and film—including multiple episodes of Maron, on the Sundance Channel, as well as ALF, Twin Peaks, the most-watched episode of CSI: Las Vegas and Showtime’s Escape at Dannemora, for which he received an Emmy nomination. Film credits include HBO’s Hemingway & Gellhorn, with Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman, which was nominated for a WGA award; Bad Boys 2, with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence; Urge, starring Pierce Brosnan; along with the cult classics Dr. Caligari and Café Flesh, co-written with the director Stephen Sayadian. Flesh replaced Pink Flamingoes on the midnight movie circuit and both films continue to play underground festivals in the US and Europe. Stahl has done teaching stints at Sylmar Juvenile Hall and San Quentin. Acting credits include Severance, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and the indie film Gunshy, with Liam Neeson. A new novel, Bad Sex in the Afterlife, will be published by Arcade Books in early 2027. He is the father of two daughters, Stella and Nico, and is married to writer Zoe Hansen. A former heroin addict, over the years Stahl has worked a number of jobs, including dishwasher and bartender, in London, messenger in New York City, and, at 38 (not to brag), proud employee of a Phoenix, Arizona McDonalds.