Morty Shallman was born on the West Coast of Illinois and studied creative writing at the University of Chicago.

Throughout his career, Morty has worked to merge his two artistic passions: writing fiction and creating pop songs. That pursuit led him to develop a new genre he calls “Literary Pop."

Last of the Zacharys is his signature work in the genre: a fully produced audiobook featuring a complete literary novel, with 19 original pop songs woven directly into the narrative to advance the story and characters—all performed by the author/composer with an array of distinctive voices.

Morty’s previous novels include The Tyranny of Desire, praised as a “comedic masterpiece” by Readers’ Favorite and War and Sex, shortlisted for the Faulkner-Wisdom Prize in Literature.

Morty’s previous works of Literary Pop include Love’s Oblivion: A Novel in Twelve Pop Songs and Pop Fiction: An Indie Noir Musical Thriller. He has also written original theme songs for The Tyranny of Desire and War and Sex.

Morty is an AWAL recording artist and a member of the Recording Academy, The Authors Guild, The Audio Publishers Association and the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society. He lives in Valley Village, California, where he continues to explore the intersection of music and literature.