Writer Songwriter
Dylan
James
Brock
Michigan born.
New York made.
Between the lakeshore
and the city.
Dylan James Brock was born in 1980 and raised in Michigan. After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan in 2003, he moved to New York City.
In New York, he regularly performed as a singer-songwriter at CBGB, The Bitter End, Arlene’s Grocery, and Pete’s Candy Store. He also spent six months as an intern at The Paris Review.
While completing his MFA at CUNY Hunter College, he took courses taught by Colson Whitehead, Colum McCann, and Andrew Sean Greer. His thesis advisor was Peter Carey.
After graduating in 2006, he performed music across several states, living in West Michigan and Nashville before returning to New York City in 2011.
In 2012, Brock began a marketing career at an IT analyst firm. In 2017, he moved into contract and full-time roles at a succession of fast-growing AI companies.
His first novel, Dry World, was published by GenZ in 2016 alongside a digital 25-song cycle—one song for each chapter. His second book, Roosevelt, Michigan, was self-published in 2021 and is available free on this site.
Brock splits his time between a marketing director role and fiction writing, but the priority is always his family.
The latest novel
How to Treat a Messiah Complex
A celebration and indictment of the community mental health system, arriving November 2026.