Allen Zadoff was born in Boston, Massachusetts and went on to live in upstate New York, Manhattan, Tokyo, and Los Angeles. A former stage director, he is a graduate of Cornell University and the Harvard University Institute for Advanced Theater Training. He is also an alumnus of the Warner Bros. Comedy Writers Workshop in Hollywood. Mr. Zadoff currently lives in Los Angeles where he works as a writer and writing coach.

Hungry is a critically acclaimed adult memoir published by Da Capo Press/Perseus Books in October 2007. In a 2007 review, the Los Angeles Times called it "gentle, funny...uncommonly appealing."

Book Description:

Allen Zadoff spent years reasoning that a big, healthy man should have a big, healthy appetite and that his rapidly increasing girth was nothing to be alarmed about. But by the time he hit 350 pounds at age 28, it became clear that what started out as a seemingly manageable weight problem was rapidly destroying his life.

Following years of see-saw dieting and guilt inducing food binges, and desperate to find a new way of living that would make him thin, Zadoff had a breakthrough. Instead of employing the diet du jour and other weight loss fads, he began to focus less on what he ate and more on the physical and emotional underpinnings of what he came to understand as a disease. The pounds melted away, and in the process he gained a whole new life.

Sharing his incredible journey both up and down the scale with bite-sized portions of savory prose, Zadoff blends his personal story with surprising strategies for weight-loss success that engage the heart and mind rather than the calorie counter. Courageous, candid, wise, and often hilarious, Hungry is sure to inspire foodies and non-foodies alike to muster the power to change.

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have is a young adult novel published by Egmont-USA in September 2009 and distributed by Random House. It received widespread critical acclaim including a starred review in VOYA that described it as "a must-read for adolescents and adults alike." The novel also won the 2010 Sid Fleischman Humor Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. The paperback edition of Food, Girls will be published on February 22, 2011.

Book Description:

Life used to be so simple for Andrew Zansky...hang with the Model U.N. guys, avoid gym class, and eat and eat and eat. He’s used to not fitting in: into his family, his sports-crazed school, or his size 48 pants.

But not anymore. Andrew just met April, the new girl at school and the instant love of his life! He wants to find a way to win her over, but how? When O. Douglas, the heartthrob quarterback and high school legend, saves him from getting beaten up by the school bully, Andrew sees his chance to get in with the football squad.

Is it possible to reinvent yourself in the middle of high school? Andrew is willing to try. But he’s going to have to make some changes. Fast.

Can a funny fat kid be friends with a football superstar? Can he win over the Girl of his Dreams? Can he find a way to get his Mom and Dad back together?

How far should you go to be the person you really want to be?

Andrew is about to find out.

The hardcover edition of My Life, the Theater, and Other Tragedies will be published by Egmont-USA and distributed by Random House on May 10, 2011.