About me
Peter Richardson has written critically acclaimed books about Rolling Stone magazine, Hunter S. Thompson, the Grateful Dead, Ramparts magazine, and radical author and editor Carey McWilliams. His essays have appeared in The Nation, The New Republic, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and many other outlets. A busy book reviewer, Richardson received the National Entertainment Journalism Award for Online Criticism in 2013. He is the author of Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine.
Richardson's commentary has been featured in major newspapers and magazines in North America and abroad. Along the way, he has appeared in many documentary films, radio programs, and podcasts. He also served on the board of directors of the Bay Area Book Festival from its inception to 2020 and moderated panels on history, music, politics, journalism, and sports.
From 2006 to 2023, Richardson taught courses on California culture at San Francisco State University. Before that, he earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Berkeley. Born and raised in the East Bay, he now lives in Sonoma County.
