About Michael Ellsberg

Hi, I’m Michael Ellsberg. I’m the author of The Divine Absurdity of Love: A Memoir and a Novella, forthcoming (2024) from El León Literary Arts.

Previously, I wrote The Education of Millionaires: Everything You Won’t Learn in College About How to Be Successful (Penguin, 2011), and co-wrote (with Bryan Franklin) The Last Safe Investment: Spending Now to Increase Your True Wealth Forever (Penguin, 2016). I also wrote The Power of Eye Contact (HarperCollins, 2010).

I was born in San Francisco in 1977, grew up in Berkeley, and graduated from Brown in 1999 with a degree—that I’ve never used—in International Relations. I now live back in Berkeley.

Find me on Twitter, Facebook, Substack, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Instagram.

Other Stuff I’ve Done:

Projects:

  • I performed my first comedy piece, entitled Freudian Kink. Warning: extremely raunchy.
  • I am an advocate and activist for the civil liberties, free speech, labor rights, human rights, decriminalization and destigmatization of adult, consenting sex workers, and erotic professionals. I write about these issues on my blog here. I also write about sex work decriminalization for the Daily Beast.
  • I’m the archivist for independent singer-songwriter-pianist Adey Bell. Her first studio album is Silver Wheel. Listen and weep.
  • I edit and maintain my father’s website Ellsberg.Net