Barry Yourgrau is a multimedia writer/performer of surreal comicality.

His early books, A Man Jumps Out of An Airplane & Wearing Dad's Head, are considered classics of short fiction. Fans know him too from MTV's Spoken Word Unplugged and NPR's All Things Considered, Weekend Edition & Selected Shorts

Barry starred in the indie film of his book, The Sadness of Sex (dir. Rupert Wainwright, with Peta Wilson). Live, he won a Drama-Logue Award for his spoken-word solo show of Wearing Dad's Head & was invited to Sundance Theater Lab to develop his book Haunted Traveller. He's built a cult following from club & cabarets in LA & New York.

 A provocative kids' series, NASTYbooks, represents BY's reachout to the younger set.

 Barry's stories have appeared in The Paris Review, Story, Bomb, Nerve, Film Comment, Poetry, Iowa Review, Columbia Journal, PEN America #5 etc. . His fiction is much anthologized. Overseas he has an enthusiastic following in Japan.

Nonfiction: NY Times, LA Times, Spin, New York, Independent (UK), Culture+Travel, Glamour, Salon, Self, Artforum, etc.

Fellowships; NY State CAPS & NYFA (twice)

As screen actor BY's played a bomb-mad scientist (Fatman and Little Boy), a beestung highschool principal (Don't Look under the Bed), and a futuristic drugdealer (Terminal Justice, where he had a fight scene with Lorenzo Lamas!). He starred in the Anthrax heavy-metal video Black Lodge.

Born in South Africa, he came to the US as a boy. He lives in New York and travels a lot.