Following graduation from Yale University in 1977, Jonathan Levi received a Mellon Fellowship to study at Cambridge University, where he co-founded the literary magazine Granta and served as U.S. Editor through 1987. Levi is the author of the novels A Guide for the Perplexed and Septimania, both available from Overlook Duckworth. His short stories and articles have appeared in many magazines including The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, and The Nation. From 1996 to 2001 he served as the Fiction Critic for the Los Angeles Times Book Review. As a producer, Levi has overseen many theatrical projects including Carly Simon’s opera, Romulus Hunt, and a 1997 production of Robert Pinsky’s translation of Dante’s Inferno. Levi’s own libretti for operas and musicals and plays have been performed in the U.S., Europe, and as far away as Tbilisi, Georgia. Levi has also served as Minister of Arts and Culture for the NYC Board of Education and as the first Director of the Frank Gehry–designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College. Born in New York City, he currently lives in Rome, Italy.