Stein was born in Munich, Germany, but grew up and attended school in Salzburg, Austria.

In 1984 he moved to Hamburg, Germany, in order to study English and American culture as well as philosophy, and completed his Magister in 1989.

He lived in Jerusalem, Israel, from 1997 to 1999 where he worked as culture correspondent for the Berliner Zeitung and wrote essays, reports and interviews.

In 1999, Stein moved to Cologne to become a literary editor of the Rheinischer Merkur, where he also worked for the radio station DeutschlandRadio.

Among others, Stein's works were also published in Merkur, Kursbuch, the lettre, Die Weltwoche and First Things.