Stephen Amidon was born in Chicago. He is the author of six novels, including The New City and Human Capital, and Subdivision, a book of short stories. His fiction has been published in fifteen countries, and he is a regular contributor of essays and criticism to newspapers and magazines in the United States and Great Britain. He lived and worked in London for twelve years before returning to the United States in 1999. His new book, The Sublime Engine: A Biography of the Human Heart, which he co-authored with his brother Tom, will be released in 2011.