Dinty W. Moore was born August 11 in Erie, Pennsylvania, the son of William P. "Buddy" Moore, an automotive mechanic, and Mary Catherine O'Brien, a former journalist. His name derives from a comic strip character in Bringing Up Father.

He was educated at the University of Pittsburgh (B.A. 1977). After graduation he worked as a reporter for United Press International until 1979. Next he worked at Falling Springs Films in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. From 1980 to 1984 he was an actor and dancer for Danceteller of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Also he served as an editor at the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania from 1985-1987.

In 1990 Moore completed his M.F.A. in writing at the Louisiana State University. He taught creative writing at Penn State Altoona from 1990 to 2007, and he is currently a Professor of English at Ohio University.

He wrote The Accidental Buddhist: Mindfulness, Meditation, and Sitting Still. Moore's essays and stories have appeared in The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, Harper's Magazine, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Arts & Letters, The Gettysburg Review, Utne Reader, and Crazyhorse. He also edits Brevity, an online journal of creative nonfiction and he is on the editorial board of Creative Nonfiction magazine.

Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2006. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000120376.