I'm Eric Webb, a native Texan and national award-winning pop culture critic, arts & entertainment journalist, editor, and film programmer. If you’re looking for an efficient, experienced, and easygoing creative collaborator, please drop me a line or follow me on Substack, Letterboxd, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Film writing and programming
Sharing weird, wonderful films and TV shows is my biggest passion. For five years, I handled that beat at the Austin American-Statesman and served as the chief film critic on staff. The Austin Chronicle nominated me for best film critic in Austin in their annual Best of Austin reader poll for three years running. I regularly contribute to Backstage magazine. I have years of experience covering major film festivals, including South by Southwest, Sundance Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, and aGLIFF.
Since 2023, I’ve served as programming associate for SXSW Film and TV Festival, screening submissions and helping select the slate for the annual event. In previous years, I’ve served on competition juries for the fest.
I've interviewed big stars on the red carpet and beyond — Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Affleck, Tilda Swinton, Viola Davis, Holland Taylor, Alison Brie, Tiffany Haddish, Jeff Goldblum, Tim Gunn, Margaret Cho, Haim, and many more.
Editing
I’m available to edit copy for your publication or project, too. Over 15 years, I’ve improved the accuracy and clarity of writing for news coverage (including for the Austin American-Statesman, the Austin Monitor, and the Media General chain), press releases, brand strategy documents, social media accounts, and academic journals.
I've led teams creating digital and print products that were named some of the best in the country. My editing expertise contributed to journalism that won awards from the Society for Features Journalism, the Online News Association, and Investigative Reporters & Editors. I also have extensive experience in audience development, including SEO and newsletters.
Music criticism
For more than a decade, I’ve written about live music and albums, capturing major moments at Austin’s premiere festivals and venues to the tune of millions of page views and awards from the Society for Features Journalism and Texas Managing Editors. Across a spectrum of genres and generations — from Billie Eilish to Bruce Springsteen, from Dolly Parton to Green Day — my criticism delivers wit, context, and the emotional core of any unforgettable performance.
Food, travel, arts, and culture features
My reporting has appeared in publications like the Statesman, USA Today, Eater, Backstage, Texas Highways, the Dallas Morning News, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Daily Dot. I’m available to write reported features on all things culture — food, travel, performing arts, human interest, and more.
Some of my favorite past stories were about everyday people who brought local cultural spaces to life. When a new bookstore owner found her business unexpectedly flooded with orders during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, my profile helped her secure a permanent storefront. And when developers threatened to displace a longtime home for the Central Texas skateboarding community, my reporting contributed to the shop’s continued operation.
And also …
The Newspaper Association of America in 2016 named me one of their Top 30 Under 30, I cannot parallel park, and I was on “Jeopardy!” when I was 12 years old, in case any of those things matter to you.