Hi, I’m Chris Payne, best-selling author and editor.

I’m a Brooklyn-based writer with over a decade of experience crafting content for brands like Billboard, Vulture, Shopify, and the in addition to HarperCollins publishers, who released my book Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo’s Mainstream Explosion, 1999-2008. You can order it here.

As a culture journalist, I’ve written for outlets like Vulture, The Ringer, Lit Hub, Stereogum, Grammy.com, and Billboard, where I worked as a staff writer for seven years.

I also do copywriting for ecommerce brands like Shopify and organizations like the MLB Players Union

I’ve interviewed artists like Billie Eilish, Travis Barker, Pete Wentz, Pusha T, Rivers Cuomo, Sam Smith, Run the Jewels, Mitski, James Murphy, Johnny Marr, and Tegan & Sara.

For a sampling of my writing and podcasting, check out the link at the top of the page.