Brian Yorkey

Brian Yorkey is an American playwright and lyricist. His works often explore dark and controversial subject matter such as mental illness, grief, the underbelly of suburbia, and ethics in both psychiatry and public education. Brian received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 2009 Tony Award for Best Score, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Next to Normal and was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. He partnered again with the Next to Normal team on If/Then (Tony Award Nominee for Best Score) starring Idina Menzel. Brian co-wrote the libretto for The Last Ship (Outer Critics Nomination, with John Logan), with a score by Sting. He wrote lyrics for the Disney Theatricals musical adaptation of Freaky Friday, which also became a Disney Channel Original Movie. Brian most recently served as the Executive Producer and Co-Showrunner for the Netflix series Echoes. Prior to that, Brian was the Creator, Executive Producer and Showrunner of 13 Reasons Why for Netflix and Paramount Television. He has also directed for theatre and television. Brian is a graduate of Columbia University, where he was artistic director of the Varsity Show, an alum of the BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, the WGA, and the DGA.