He was raised in Palo Alto, California and graduated from Henry M. Gunn High School. He received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University. He spent seven years as a newspaper reporter, mostly in El Paso and at the Miami New Times. He has been writing fiction for over ten years. His work can be found in a range of literary magazines, and newspapers including The Boston Globe, Playboy Magazine, Nerve, Polite, Lake Effect, and AM Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Arlington, Massachusetts. He reviews books for The Boston Globe and The Los Angeles Times.

He served as adjunct professor in creative writing at Boston College for five years until publishing an open letter of resignation in the The Boston Globe on May 12, 2006, in which he explained that his resignation was intended to protest the selection of Condoleezza Rice as the college's 2006 commencement guest speaker.

Steve was a contributing writer to Alarm Clock Theatre Company's Elliot Norton Award winning play PS Page Me Later based on selections from Found Magazine.

Short Story

• The Evil B.B. Chow
• My Life in Heavy Metal
• This Won't Take But a Minute Honey, self-published with Espresso Book Machine, 2010.

Nonfiction

• A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America, Algonquin Books, 2004.
• Rants, Exploits and Obsessions, Random House, was released September 11, 2007.
• Letters from People Who Hate Me, self-published with Espresso Book Machine, 2010.
• Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, Random House, 2010.

Coauthor

• Which Brings Me to You (with Julianna Baggott)