He grew up on the East Coast of the United States of America, including a spell in Columbia, Maryland, which served as the inspiration for his fourth novel The New City. Amidon attended Wake Forest University as a Guy T. Carswell Scholar, majoring in philosophy.He moved to London, UK, in 1987, where he was given his first job as a critic by Auberon Waugh.
His literary criticism and essays have appeared in many publications in North America and the UK and he has also worked as a film critic for the Financial Times and the Sunday Times. In November, 2013, Amidon was on the jury of the 31st Torino Film Festival.Amidon has written two non-fiction books: The Sublime Engine with his brother Tom, a cardiologist,[and Something Like the Gods which is dedicated to his son, Alexander, a first-team, all-ACC wide receiver for the Boston College football team.
Stephen Amidon sold his first work of fiction in 1989, when the short story "Echolocation" was chosen by Ian Hamilton for inclusion in the Bloomsbury anthology Soho Square II. He was awarded an Arts Council of Great Britain bursary for the short story in 1990. He is the author of a collection of short stories and seven novels, the most recent of which, Locust Lane, was released in 2023. His fiction has been published in seventeen countries and has appeared on many best-of-the-year lists.
An Italian film adaptation of the novel Human Capital (Il capitale umano), directed by Paolo Virzì won best film at the 2014 David di Donatello, Nastro d'Argento, and Globi D'Oro Awards.
In February 2015, Teatro Stabile di Torino premiered 6BIANCA, a serial drama, written by Stephen Amidon and directed by Serena Sinigaglia.
The Leisure Seeker, which Amidon adapted as a screenplay with Virzì, Francesca Archibugi, and Francesco Piccolo, premiered in completion at the 2017 Venice Film Festival. The film stars Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland, and the screenplay was nominated for Italian Golden Globe, and David di Donatello awards.
An American version of Human Capital, directed by Marc Meyers, adapted by Oren Moverman, and starring Liev Schreiber, Alex Wolff, Marisa Tomei, and Maya Hawke, premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
January 2020, filming began in Italy on an adaptation of Amidon's novel Security, directed by Peter Chelsom, and starring Marco D'Amore, Valeria Bilello, and Fabrizio Bentivoglio. Security was released in Italy in May 2021, and elsewhere in June by Netflix, on which it became a worldwide hit.
