About Phil Harvey
Phil Harvey's fiction has appeared in over a dozen literary magazines including Phantasmagoria, The MacGuffin, Natural Bridge, and the Dos Passos Review. His short story Roberta's River was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and another, Bait and Switch won an award from Antietam Review.
Show Time, his first novel, was hailed by the Washington Independent Review of Books as "a psychological thriller that takes reality shows, and in fact much of our popular culture, into a realm of true horror...a thinking reader's thriller and a thoroughly entertaining read."
Harvey's book Let Every Child Be Wanted: How Social Marketing is Revolutionizing Contraceptive Use Around the World drew praise from former President Jimmy Carter. Government Creep: What the Government is Doing That You Don't Know About, said ACLU President Nadine Strossen, "will give you the creeps about the increasingly invasive role of government in every aspect of our lives-our homes, our workplaces and even our bodies and minds."
Harvey, with co-author Lisa Conyers, published The Human Cost of Welfare in 2016. The authors believe the U.S. welfare system is broken, and proof is found in the anecdotes shared from people with direct experience of its flaws. This detailed review offers solutions based on common sense and a deep understanding of how humans value themselves and their lives.
As the president of Adam & Eve, one of the world's leading suppliers of sex toys, adult films and condoms, Harvey is a warrior for libertarian values. The Government vs. Erotica, the true story of the federal government's attack on his company, drew praise from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. The narrative of his long fight for the freedom to distribute "obscene" materials--meaning condoms--by mail spurred the ALA Intellectual Freedom Roundtable to nominate the work as the year's best book on intellectual freedom. The Media Coalition called it "a frightening, enlightening story."
Harvey is currently completing Welfare for the Rich with Lisa Conyers, an exploration of how the government subsidizes the wealthy at the expense of ordinary taxpayers. Some of the worst offenses are found in the vast sums paid to thriving agribusinesses and wealthy farmers. "Needy" companies like Boeing are given special subsidies while oil companies receive tax breaks. Solar panel companies are given subsidized government loans and General Motors gets bailed out. Wealthy homeowners, meanwhile, are allowed to deduct mortgage interest on their second homes.
The Huffington Post, Forbes and other publications have published Harvey’s contrarian articles and essays. These shorter pieces detail the issues about which he is most passionate: libertarian causes like civil liberties, ending the war on drugs, and reproductive health. He has appeared on CNN's "Business Unusual" and was the subject of a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation special.
Harvey is the chairman of DKT International, a Washington, D.C.-based charity that implements family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention programs in 20 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. As a philanthropist, he provided funds to Oregon State's initiative to legalize marijuana. The DKT Liberty Project, which Harvey founded, works to end the injustices perpetuated by the War on Drugs and to raise awareness of freedom of speech issues. He is also on the board of the National Coalition Against Censorship.
