R. Eric Thomas is an American author, playwright, television writer and

advice columnist An advice column is a Column (periodical), column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. ...

. He is best known for his essay collection ''Here For It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America'' (2020).

Early life

Thomas grew up in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland. He attended the

Park School of Baltimore The Park School of Baltimore, known as Park, is a private, coeducational, PK-12, non-sectarian, progressive day school located in Baltimore County, Maryland. The school was founded in 1912 by Eli Frank Sr., Professor Hans Froelicher Sr., and ...

, then

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and transferred to

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

, where he studied playwriting.

Career

For four years, Thomas wrote "Eric Reads the News," a popular daily humor column covering pop culture and politics for ''

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''. He is the long-running host of

The Moth The Moth is a nonprofit group based in New York City, dedicated to the craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featuring promine ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and Washington, D.C. He has written for the television shows '' Dickinson'' (

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

) and '' Better Things'' ( FX). In February 2020, Thomas published the essay collection, ''Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America''. The book was a

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

Read with Jenna Book Club Pick. ''Here For It'' was a finalist for the

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

, named one of the best ten best book of the year by ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...

,'' and one of the best books of the year by '' O: The Oprah Magazine''. In October 2020, Thomas and Helena Andrews-Dyer published the book, ''Reclaiming Her Time: The Power of

Maxine Waters Maxine Moore Waters (née Carr; born August 15, 1938) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1991. The district, numbered as the California's 29th congressional district, ...

,'' which ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' included in "The 10 Best Political Books of 2020 by Black Women". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' described the book as, "There’s plenty of funny on these pages. And not just a line here or there; we’re talking curse you for making my face wrinkle this way I am now reaching for the eye cream funny. The writers are unabashed fans, writing for those who share the love and making the case that political biographies shine bright when they have as much panache as their subject." In May 2022, Thomas published the YA book, ''Kings of B'more''.

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

described the book as "infused with all the joy of the best teen movie." Thomas won a 2022

in the "LGBTQ Drama" category for his play, ''Mrs. Harrison''. In 2023, Thomas published a second collection of personal essays called ''Congratulations, the Best Is Over!'' In 2024, after briefly writing ''

Dear Prudence "Dear Prudence" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Written in Ri ...

'', Thomas began writing the

advice column An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. The responses are w ...

''Asking Eric'' for

Tribune Content Agency Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media ...

; in May of 2024, fellow advice columnist

Amy Dickinson Amy Dickinson (born November 6, 1959) is a former American newspaper columnist who wrote the syndicated advice column ''Ask Amy''. Dickinson has appeared as a social commentator on ABC's ''Good Morning America'' and NBC's ''The Today Show''. Bi ...

announced her retirement and encouraged her readers to begin reading ''Asking Eric'' instead.

Personal

Thomas is gay and married to David Johnston Norse, a Presbyterian minister. The two were married in 2016. Thomas is outspoken about his depression and struggles with mental health. He told ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'' that he spent the two years writing ''Here For It'' "deeply, deeply depressed".

References

External links

R. Eric Thomas
Tribune Content Agency {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Eric Living people American television writers American gay writers Year of birth missing (living people) American LGBTQ screenwriters Lambda Literary Award winners American advice columnists American humorous columnists