Tod Goldberg is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen books, including the acclaimed Gangsterland quartet: Gangsterland, Gangster Nation, The Low Desert: Gangster Stories and Gangsters Don’t Die, which were named finalists for the Hammett Prize, the International Thriller of the Year Award, the Strand Critics Award, and The Reading the West Award and have been named an Amazon Best Book of the Year and twice awarded Southwest Book of the Year. He is also the author of the standalone novels The House of Secrets (which he co-authored with Brad Meltzer), Living Dead Girl (a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize), and Fake Liar Cheat; the acclaimed story collections Other Resort Cities and Simplify, which won the Other Voices Book Prize and was a finalist for the Southern California Book Sellers Association Award for Fiction; and five books in the popular popular Burn Notice series, three times a finalist for the Scribe Award. His most recent book, Only Way Out, was released in December 2025 by Thomas & Mercer and was an instant bestseller, was named one of the best books of the year by numerous publications, and is a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Salton Sea (Counterpoint Press) will be released in 2027. His books have been published in a dozen languages and around the world.

In addition to his three volumes of collected stories, Tod’s short fiction has appeared in a number of magazines, journals, and anthologies, including Las Vegas Noir, Palm Springs Noir, and Best American Mystery & Suspense, which selected “A Career Spent Disappointing People” for its 2022 edition and “A Dog’s Year” for its 2025 release, along with twice receiving Distinguished Story notation, for “Mitzvah” (2009) and “Paladin” (2024). He is also the editor of Eight Very Bad Nights, an anthology of Hanukkah-themed noir from Soho Press, which was a finalist for the Anthony Award and hailed as one of the best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times, among many others. His nonfiction & criticism appears regularly in newspapers, magazines, and anthologies, including most recently in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Alta and Best American Essays. For his body of work, Tod has won five Nevada Press Association Awards and was honored with the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.

In addition to his work on the page, Tod has also sold numerous TV and film projects, including to CBS, FX, and Miramax, and is currently a producer on an upcoming Netflix series. He also spent a decade as the cohost — along with Julia Pistell & Rider Strong — of the celebrated podcast Literary Disco, which was named a top literary podcast by the Washington Post, The Guardian, Mashable, and even Good Housekeeping, among countless others.

Tod Goldberg holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Literature from Bennington College and is a Professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside where he founded and directs the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts. He lives in Indio, CA with his wife, Wendy Duren.