R. Eric Thomas
R. Eric Thomas is an acclaimed author, playwright, essayist, and public speaker whose work has been featured in publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Rolling Stone. His essays and short stories often explore the African-American experience through a humorous and thoughtful lens, while his plays focus on the issues of identity and ancestry. Thomas has published several books, including 2019’s Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America, and Speak: A Literary Journal for the Black Experience, which won the 2021 PEN Open Book Award.
Thomas was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1976. He studied English and Global Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, followed by graduate school at Bryn Mawr College. After graduating, he worked with organizations in the realms of media production and television, as well as stage managing for theater companies such as the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival.
Thomas’s essays are often humorous, irreverent, and profoundly honest. Though he touches on topics such as race, gender, and sexuality, he also speaks on his own experiences, such as the realities of growing up and his relationships with family and friends. His writing often features genre-bending, bouncing between a diversity of styles—from ironic and lighthearted to serious and very real.
One of Thomas’ most popular books to date is Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America. Published in 2019, the book is an exploration of the complexities of being black in America. Through a mix of personal and cultural essays, Thomas highlights his struggles to keep hope alive for both the present and future. Referencing topics such as family, childhood, racism, pop culture, and more, Thomas makes a profound case for the freedom and joy that comes from reclaiming one’s identity—no matter our background or personal history.
Alongside Here for It, Thomas’s other books include short story collection Shadows in the Dark and Speak, a literary journal focused on the African-American experience. Speak, published in 2021, won the PEN Open Book Award, acknowledging its creative and powerful repurposing of classic literary texts by and about black Americans, elevating the voices of authors and writers that have been both marginalized and silenced.
No matter where his work is featured, Thomas has become known for his ability to explore the African-American experience with both insight and wit. His writing is often profoundly honest and relatable, demonstrating the many faces of blackness and the human condition. As his namesake continues to grow, his books and plays will remain evergreen in the realms of literature and the performing arts, propelling the voices and stories of marginalized and silenced people for generations to come.
