Amanda Montell (born February 16, 1992) is an American author, linguist, and writer.

Montell was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland to a Jewish family; she attended Hebrew school as a child.^[1][2] Her debut book, Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language, was released in 2019 and received positive reviews from critics.^[3][4][5][6] It was named one of the best books of May 2019 by Popsugar,^[7] Marie Claire,^[8] and Cosmopolitan.^[9]

Her second book, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, was published in 2021 and also received positive reviews from critics.^[10][11][12] The book was partially inspired by Montell's father, who spent his teen years in the cult Synanon.^[13] Montell is also a cohost of the weekly podcast Sounds Like a Cult with documentarian Isabela Medina-Maté, where they examine groups from across the cultural zeitgeist.^[14]

Her third book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, was published in April 2024.^[15][16]The book purports to explain how cognitive biases warp our actions.

Montell holds a degree in linguistics from New York University^[17] and her writing has appeared in Time,^[18] Nylon, Cosmopolitan,^[19] Glamour, Domino,^[20] and Marie Claire. She previously worked as a beauty and features editor at Byrdie and Who What Wear. She also created a web series, The Dirty Word,^[21] for Joey Soloway's now defunct platform, Wifey.^[22][23]