Erica Wagner was born in New York City and is a widely-acclaimed author and critic. She was literary editor of The Times for 17 years and is now contributing literary editor for Harper’s Bazaar, a contributing writer for the New Statesman, as well as writing for the Financial Times, the Economist and the New York Times.

Erica was interviewed by Penny Hughes as part of Poet in the City's Emily Dickinson: Success is Counted Sweetest event at King's Place on 3 October 2020, as part of Poet in the City's Fail Better 2020 programme.