Joe Amato (born May 31, 1955) is an American writer and poet.
Amato was born in 1955 in Syracuse, New York. He received BS degrees in mathematics and in mechanical engineering from Syracuse University in 1976. He spent seven years working in project engineering in New York before returning to graduate school and earning an MA and Doctor of Arts in English from University at Albany in 1986 and 1989, respectively. He has since authored eleven books, including a memoir and three novels, and coauthored screenplays with writing partner Kass Fleisher. Amato was the former production manager at Steerage Press, founded by Fleisher in 2011. He taught creative writing and literature for twenty years at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.