Richard Grayson (1951–) is a writer, political activist and performance artist, most noted for his books of short stories and his satiric runs for public office. Born in Brooklyn, he attended New York public schools and the City University of New York, receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College, where he was also an undergraduate. His first stories started appearing in literary magazines in the mid-1970s, and in 1979, his first book-length collection of short stories, With Hitler in New York, was published. In the same year Grayson, active in liberal politics since his teenage years, registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as a candidate for Vice President of the United States, receiving coverage for his humorous "campaign" in The New Yor