Michael Long

Michael Long is a writer and educator with a background across disciplines as diverse as neuroscience, physics, comedy, communications, and literature.

Bio and Featured Works

Michael Long is a writer and educator with a background across disciplines as diverse as neuroscience, physics, comedy, communications, and literature. Actor and author Ben Stein calls him “a poet.” Tony-nominated playwright Neil LaBute put it this way: “Mike Long is the real deal.”

Mr. Long is the co-author of the international bestseller The Molecule of More, a #10 Bestseller at Amazon and a #2 Bestseller at Audible, available in 24 languages, with one million copies sold worldwide. He is the sole author of its sequel Taming the Molecule of More and he narrated the audiobook. He has collaborated on titles in thought leadership, business, and memoir, most recently A Bushel of Beans and a Peck of Tomatoes: The Life and Times of “The Funniest Man in America,” James Gregory (Permuted Press) and 3X World Champ by Ted Pryor (BenBella). 

Mr. Long is also a playwright. More than 20 of his short shows have been produced around the US, most on New York City stages. He won the Neil LaBute New Theater Festival two years in a row. He is also a five-time winner of “Best of Festival” honors in the Players Theatre Short Play and Musical Festival in Greenwich Village. As a screenwriter, he was a finalist for the Grand Prize for Screenwriting at the Slamdance Film Festival with How to Save Your Own Life; his script was also a Top 15 percent finisher for the Motion Picture Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship and a finalist at the Vail Film Festival, the Creative World Awards, and the World Series of Screenwriting. A stage version of the show was produced in a three-week run at Manhattan Repertory Theater. 

Mr. Long was also a semi-finalist for the Kairos Prize for his Christian screenplay The Joby Project, a winner of the Rocaberti Scholarship for screenwriting, and a finalist for the International Screenwriters Association Fast Track Fellowship for his historical thriller Henry Wallace. 

He has written speeches and op-eds for members of Congress, cabinet secretaries, governors, diplomats, CEOs, and presidential candidates. In addition, he has served as chief speechwriter for the largest trade association in the world. He has been published three times in Vital Speeches of the Day, twice for speeches he delivered. 

As a keynote speaker and a leader of professional writing seminars, Mr. Long has addressed audiences around the U.S. and in London, Lisbon, Panama, Paris, Saskatchewan, The Hague, and Oxford University. His seminar clients include Bechtel, Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Panama Canal Authority, the Premier’s Office of Saskatchewan, Target, the United States Navy, the United States Secret Service, and the speechwriting team for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is also the resident writing coach for the Professional Speechwriters Association (PSA) and a member of the advisory boards of both PSA and Gotham Ghostwriters.

As an educator, Mr. Long has been a lecturer at Georgetown University since 2007 where he teaches courses in public relations writing, creative writing, speechwriting, and public speaking. He served as the first director of writing for the university’s graduate program in public relations. He has led reading programs for children of migrant farm workers, taught remedial mathematics to adults, designed writing curricula for Columbia University, and delivered guest lectures on humor at American University and at the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University.

With his wide-ranging experience and memorable presence, Mr. Long has made hundreds of radio and podcast appearances. He has also been a guest on CNBC and Good Day New York with Greg Kelly, and a commentator on major American speech events for CBC News: Morning with Heather Hiscox in Canada. He has also been consulted for material in The Onion and for Saturday Night Live. 

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Mr. Long holds a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics and a master’s degree in management. He also pursued graduate studies in physics at Vanderbilt University. 

Mr. Long’s career as a writer began when he started performing stand-up while a graduate student in physics. He soon became a house emcee for one of the oldest comedy clubs in America. After graduate school, he continued performing comedy, wrote features and reviews for The Nashville Scene, and became the film critic for KDF radio. At the same time, he maintained a career coding and designing business systems. 

He left technology in a move to Washington, DC, where his first full-time job as a writer was sole speechwriter for Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson. 

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His current projects include a television show about neuroscience and human meaning, and a novel to be published in 2027.

About Michael Long

Expertise

Public Speaking
Writing

Languages

English
French