Erika Higgins Ross

Erika Higgins Ross began her writing and performing career in the East Village, reading her poetry at open mics and fronting the all-girl band, Big Panty. Her publishers at Bug Music sent her to London to record Spin, a spoken-word trip-hop collaboration with Meat Katie, featured on the 4Vini tribute record. After a move to L.A., her spec t.v. scripts earned her representation by Brillstein-Grey and a finalist spot in the Warner Brother's Fellowship, but she zagged and embarked on a career as a marriage and family therapist.

Since she has recommitted to writing, she has been granted a spot on the Granum Foundation Award longlist, won the Emerging Writer Award at The Key West Literary Seminar, won a National Baseball Poetry Award, and read her poetry on an NPR podcast.

Her debut novel, Soft Animal, which explores the inner life of a couples therapist as she navigates the "sandwich" stage of life, has been acquired by HarperCollins UK and William Morrow US in a pre-emptive World All Languages deal. She is a host with London Writers’ Salon and finds great joy in working with other writers to build creative community. Erika Higgins Ross lives in Western Massachusetts with three generations of family and a perfect dog and dreamy cat.