I'm an established nonfiction and short fiction author seeking friendly, assertive representation for my debut novel The Oaklanders.

It's a life of organic food, yoga, punk rock, NPR. Ex-punk rocker Adam is now a househusband in Oakland, California, though his band is still big in Central Europe. His wife Kira practices yoga and runs an arts program at UC Berkeley. Their thirteen-year-old daughter Polly is fascinated by tattoos. Then ex-felon Amber, Adam's illegitimate daughter from a wild band weekend 25 years ago -- she claims -- arrives on their doorstep, homeless and tweaking on Meth with three-year-old Joey, her disabled younger son. After a week of tension and confusion, Amber and Joey leave, but their visit leaves the family fractured. Kira has an affair with her yoga teacher; Adam wallows in overspending, drugs, and Internet porn; and Polly begins to cut herself. When Amber reappears with both her sons, Adam and Kira must figure out: What makes a family, what makes a family stay together, and what pressures are too much for a marriage to take?

I'm the author of seven nonfiction books and many anthologized essays and award-winning short stories. I recently won the Grand Prize in the Red Room Housewarming Party contest, demonstrating my wide author platform and ability to enthusiastically promote my writing. My "Red Diaper Dharma" column appears in Literary Mama, and I have a professional performance and promotional background. I am on the faculty at UC Berkeley, and a rueful participant in much of The Oaklanders new age lifestyle I explore both comically and culturally.

More about me at my personal website or

visit me in the Red Room!

This writer is looking for an agent.

Gayle Brandeis, author of Self Storage, The Book of Dead Birds says:
"Ericka Lutz is a brave, honest, deeply observant writer. She deftly celebrates and lampoons Bay area culture as she exposes the dark side of a family which, on the surface, seems ideal. The Oaklanders is a timely, compulsive read."

Masha Hamilton, author of The Camel Book Mobile, Staircase of a Thousand Steps, The Distance Between Us says,
"Ericka Lutz has an exceptional eye for the gray areas of life. With deft and sure hand, The Oaklanders explores the meaning of family in our modern world and the ways in which we betray not only others, but ourselves. Well-written and compelling, this book grabs hold and won’t let go, even after you turn the final page."

Visit me in the Red Room!

http://www.redroom.com/author/ericka-lutz

Daily blogging about writing, process, oxtails, high school reunions, Herbert Selby Jr., and much much more: Ericka in the Red Room!

Ericka Lutz's award-winning short stories and personal essays have appeared in numerous books, anthologies, and journals, and her articles, book reviews and advice columns have appeared nationally in magazines, newspapers, and on the Web. Her short story "Deer Story" won the Boston Fiction Festival in 2006, and her essays have appeared in many anthologies, including France, A Love Story (Seal Press), Child of Mine (Hyperion) and the upcoming What I Would Tell Her (Mira). She was the Founding Fiction Editor at the online literary magazine Literary Mama, served as Senior Editor there for two years, and currently writes their popular monthly column, "Red Diaper Dharma."

Ericka is the author of seven non-fiction books including On the Go with Baby, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Stepparenting, The Complete Idiot's Guide to a Well-Behaved Child, as well as The Complete Idiot's Guide to a Looking Great for Teens (translated into Polish) and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Friendship for Teens (translated into Portuguese).

She is a two-time recipient of a fiction fellowship at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. After media training from Sourcebooks, Inc, she appeared on over 40 radio shows including "The Parent's Journal" on NPR and was a featured guest on KRON-TV and KGO (ABC) in San Francisco. She and her daughter were featured on the American Public Media show, "The Story." She has been a guest speaker at the Mills College Professional Survival for Writers Day, the National Women's Book Association, and the USF Masters in Writing Program. She's read her writing at dozens of bookstores and literary venues including San Francisco LitQuake, the Boston Fiction Festival, The Sunday Salon (Brooklyn), Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Barnes and Noble (Manhattan), Borders Books (San Francisco), Book Passages, Modern Times (San Francisco), and many more.

Ericka is a skeptical participant in much of the Northern California culture she spoofs: yoga, meditation, unconditional dance, and clothing-optional spas. The child of a bohemian San Francisco family and a fourth-generation Red Diaper Baby (her grandmother was the author Tillie Olsen), Ericka's early background was in theater. She performed in the SF Bay Area, New York and Tokyo, and studied at the A.C.T Young Conservatory, the Lee Strasberg Institute, and the Center for Experimental and Interdisciplinary Art at SF State University. Recently she has performed solo at the Jean Shelton Theater, and was featured in the SF Chronicle for her work at SoloHouse.

Ericka teaches fiction writing and public speaking for U.C. Berkeley Extension and MediaBistro, and is the Writing Consultant for the Evening & Weekend MBA program at U.C. Berkeley. Since 1992, she's provided private coaching on writing and writing process as well as editorial services to writers and organizations. She currently blogs as a Red Room writer (where her recording of "Who Am I Without My Wallet?" was recently featured as Best Podcast), and maintains a website at www.erickalutz.com.

Debut Fiction: Looking for an agent for The Oaklanders

Aging hipsters Adam, Kira, and their daughter Polly live a socially-aware Bay Area life until a woman claiming to be Adam's daughter from a one-night stand appears on the doorstep with her own disabled child, bursting the family's insular bubble and forcing them to redefine love, marriage, parenting, and what it means to grow up.

The Oaklanders is a funny, visceral, ultimately redemptive story that explores the meaning of family along with the themes of clashing American cultures, modern-day poisons, and self-inflicted violence.