George de Stefano is journalist and critic who has written extensively on culture and politics. His work has appeared in such publications as The Nation, Film Comment, Newsday, Gay City News, The Advocate, Cineaste, In These Times, Voices in Italian Americana, NY Journal of Books, and others. He is also a contributor to the Web publications PopMatters, Rootsworld, and I-Italy.

Mr. de Stefano’s book, An Offer We Can’t Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America (Faber and Faber, 2007) explores some of his longstanding preoccupations as a writer: cultural mythologies and their social impact; ethnic identity and stereotypes; popular culture, especially film, and how such social categories as race, class, sexuality and gender interact in American society.

He has also written about the AIDS pandemic, Latin American literature, Spanish film, Italian politics, Afro-Cuban, African, and other “ethnic” music, and jazz. Mr. de Stefano is deeply interested in food—its cultural and social significance, its production and distribution, and the critical importance of preserving biodiversity in agriculture. The Slow Food movement, which began in Italy as a protest against corporate “fast food,” fascinates and inspires him.

Mr. de Stefano is currently developing new book ideas, as well as pursuing opportunities in feature writing, commentary, and cultural criticism. He is also a member of the National Book Critics Circle.