Brian Schaefer is a California-bred, New York-based novelist and journalist covering a unique spectrum of topics from arts & culture to politics and social issues, weighing in on the world through fiction, reported articles and personal essays.

Brian's work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Tablet Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Haaretz Newspaper, Bloomberg/Businessweek, Out Magazine, Dance Magazine, The Jerusalem Post, The Daily Beast, The Forward and Moment Magazine. 

From 2010-2013, Brian lived in Tel Aviv, first as a fellow for the 2010-2011 Dorot Fellowship in Israel, and later as a reporter, columnist and editor for Haaretz, Israel's oldest daily newspaper, a partner of the International New York Times. 

From 2013-2025, Brian co-wrote the weekly Dance Listings for the New York Times. Since 2015, he has been a scholar-in-residence at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Beckett, MA — America's longest-running international dance festival. 

Brian was a Finalist for the 2012 Livingston Award for Young Journalists in the International Reporting category for his exploration of the history and politics of Israel's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

In 2007, Brian received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Arts Journalism for Dance Criticism. He was a Board Member of the Dance Critics Association from 2011-2014 and a U.S. State Department Arts Ambassador in 2020.

Brian holds Bachelor degrees in Communication and Dance from the University of California, San Diego and a Masters in Literature/Creative Writing from Bar Ilan University.