Josh Bazell is an American writer and medical doctor. Born in 1970, Bazell graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in English Literature. He holds an M.D. from Columbia University and completed his medical residency at the University of California, San Francisco.

In 2009, he published his first novel, Beat the Reaper, which follows the adventures of a doctor who is an ex-mafioso. The novel's rights were acquired by HBO for a series to be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. Bazell released his second novel, Wild Thing, in February 2012.

Some of his favorite writers include James Ellroy, Ken Bruen, Michael Connelly, and Peter Lovesey. Bazell states that he got the idea for his first novel during his medical school training, observing the tension physicians feel between practicing medicine and their personal lives. This inspired him to write about a doctor who leads a double life.