Erika W. Smith always uses her middle initial because there are at least three other people who share her first and last name and work in the same field. Just call her the Tom Holland of journalism.
At the Skimm, Erika is a freelance writer contributing analysis of the day’s biggest news and culture stories to the Daily Skimm morning newsletter. She loves writing silly, snappy email subject lines and headlines and making comparisons between politics and pop culture. If you see a Succession reference, odds are it came from her.
Erika has been working in women’s media since 2013. She’s held staff roles at Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, BUST magazine, and HelloGiggles and freelanced for publications including Vogue, Elle, and PopSugar. She’s also the author of the Astrosex book series, which gives you sex advice tailored to your zodiac sign, and the editor of the Cosmo Tarot Deck: The Ultimate and Guidebook, an Amazon bestseller. It’ll surprise nobody to learn that she’s a Scorpio.
While she’s worked on pretty much everything that you might read in a women’s magazine you buy at the airport, Erika is particularly interested in culture journalism — analyzing what lifestyle trends and pop culture moments can tell us about wider societal shifts. For example, she once wrote about how Survivor contestants’ pre-show beauty prep changed over the show’s 50 seasons. Another time, she wrote about the growing trend of stay-at-home girlfriend influencers on TikTok — and what happens when they break up.
Erika has a bachelor’s degree from Boston University with a double major in journalism and English literature. And yes, she’s one of those annoying people who reads over 100 books a year. She particularly loves romance novels and “weird girl” lit fic. Erika moved from Brooklyn, New York to Chicago, Illinois in 2025 and spends her free time attending concerts, visiting art museums, watching movies, and wandering around her new city. You can follow her on Instagram @erikawynn, read more of her work at erikawsmith.com, or subscribe to her Substack.
Erika W. Smith always uses her middle initial because there are at least three other people who share her first and last name and work in the same field. Just call her the Tom Holland of journalism.
At the Skimm, Erika is a freelance writer contributing analysis of the day’s biggest news and culture stories to the Daily Skimm morning newsletter. She loves writing silly, snappy email subject lines and headlines and making comparisons between politics and pop culture. If you see a Succession reference, odds are it came from her.
Erika has been working in women’s media since 2013. She’s held staff roles at Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, BUST magazine, and HelloGiggles and freelanced for publications including Vogue, Elle, and PopSugar. She’s also the author of the Astrosex book series, which gives you sex advice tailored to your zodiac sign, and the editor of the Cosmo Tarot Deck: The Ultimate and Guidebook, an Amazon bestseller. It’ll surprise nobody to learn that she’s a Scorpio.
While she’s worked on pretty much everything that you might read in a women’s magazine you buy at the airport, Erika is particularly interested in culture journalism — analyzing what lifestyle trends and pop culture moments can tell us about wider societal shifts. For example, she once wrote about how Survivor contestants’ pre-show beauty prep changed over the show’s 50 seasons. Another time, she wrote about the growing trend of stay-at-home girlfriend influencers on TikTok — and what happens when they break up.
Erika has a bachelor’s degree from Boston University with a double major in journalism and English literature. And yes, she’s one of those annoying people who reads over 100 books a year. She particularly loves romance novels and “weird girl” lit fic. Erika moved from Brooklyn, New York to Chicago, Illinois in 2025 and spends her free time attending concerts, visiting art museums, watching movies, and wandering around her new city. You can follow her on Instagram @erikawynn, read more of her work at erikawsmith.com, or subscribe to her Substack.
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