He’s the recipient of residency grants/fellowships at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Monson Arts, the Chulitna Lodge Research Institute, and the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals.

Theater

Erik has adapted the Warner Bros. holiday classic Christmas in Connecticut with co-bookwriter Patrick Pacheco, composer Jason Howland and lyricist Amanda Yesnowitz. The show premiered at Goodspeed Musicals and was further developed at Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Theatre. (License forthcoming from Broadway Licensing Worldwide.)

Erik’s darkly comic drama Like a Billion Likes premiered at Stage West Theatre. It is the winner of the Robert Chesley/Victor Bumbalo Playwriting Award; the winner of the Southwest Playwriting Contest; and a top 10 finalist for the Woodward/ Newman Drama Award. 

A Tony voter and member of the American Theatre Wing’s Advisory Board and the Clive Barnes Foundation awards selection committee, Erik was also part of the writers’ group at the Musical Theatre Factory, where he developed an adaptation of Like A Billion Likes titled Misty Makes It Better with composer Brad Alexander and lyricist Jill Abramovitz.

His musical Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, co-written with Ben H. Winters and featuring the songs of Neil Sedaka (arranged by Tom Kitt), was developed at New York’s Capital Rep and the Actors’ Playhouse in Miami; it has since been licensed by Theatrical Rights Worldwide and performed in cities across the globe, from London to Seoul. He also adapted the beloved TV comedy Cheers for a live stage event, which premiered in Boston. 

Erik was the Playwright in Residence for the acclaimed troupe Theatre Couture. Their comic adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie premiered Off Broadway at New York’s P.S. 122, as did Doll, a twisted take on Ibsen’s A Doll’s House; the comic thriller Tell-Tale (transfer to the Cherry Lane Theater, GLAAD nominee for Best Play); and the comedy Charlie! 

Novels

He is the author of a critically acclaimed humor series for middle-grade readers and adults firmly in touch with their inner kids. Muppets Meet the Classics, published by Disney and Penguin Workshop, includes The Phantom of the Opera and Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm.

Film & Television

Erik penned the screen adaptation of Theatre Couture’s Charlie! The movie premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. He was a staff writer and story editor for season two of Here TV’s supernatural series Dante’s Cove. His screenplay Heartbreaker, a psychosexual thriller, was a finalist for the Outfest Screenwriting Lab and he was commissioned to write original poems for the Showtime film The Escape, starring Patrick Dempsey.

Publishing & Journalism

In the publishing world, Erik spent more than a decade as an executive editor at Entertainment Weekly and InStyle, one of the world’s largest fashion media brands.

Previously, Erik was the editor-in-chief of Show People magazine and an editor and critic at Us Weekly and Time Out New York. His articles have appeared in Glamour, W, Real Simple, Town & Country, People, LIFE and Out, among others. 

On-Air Reporting

He has been an on-air reporter for the TV program Talking Movies on BBC/BBC America; acted as host of ABC’s entertainment program The Us Weekly Report; and was a correspondent for ABC’s News One radio show.

As a correspondent, he has appeared on CNN, VH1, Entertainment Tonight, The View, Access Hollywood, and, in a moment of shining glory, on MTV’s How to Live Like a Celebrity Pet.