Dennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor, and performance artist. He is best known for the George Miles Cycle, a series of five semi-autobiographical novels published between 1989 and 2000. These novels have been described by Tony O'Neill as "as intense a dissection of human relationships and obsession that modern literature has ever attempted." Cooper is the founder and editor of Little Caesar Magazine, a punk zine that ran between 1976 and 1982.

Born on January 10, 1953, in Pasadena, California, Cooper grew up in the Southern California cities of Covina and Arcadia. He wrote stories and poems from an early age and became serious about writing at 15 after reading Arthur Rimbaud and The Marquis de Sade. He attended LA county public schools until the 8th grade, when he transferred to a private school, Flintridge Preparatory School for Boys in La Canada, California, from which he was expelled in the 11th grade. During his time at Flintridge, he met his friend George Miles, who would become his muse and the subject of much of his future writing.

Cooper attended Pasadena City College for two years, where he participated in poetry writing workshops taught by poets Ronald Koertge and Jerene Hewitt.