Eric Clayton is an award-winning writer, speaker, storyteller and sought-after retreat leader. He is the author of My Life with the Jedi: The Spirituality of Star Wars and Cannonball Moments: Telling Your Story, Deepening Your Faith, both from Loyola Press. His next book, Finding Peace Here and Now: How Ignatian Spirituality Leads Us to Healing and Wholeness, is due out from Brazos Press in 2025.
Eric is currently the deputy director of communications at the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. He joined the team in 2019 and produces content that invites audiences to reflect on how to integrate Ignatian spirituality in their everyday life. He guest hosts “AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast” and writes an award-winning weekly newsletter entitled “Now Discern This” for an audience of nearly 30,000 subscribers.
He previously worked at Catholic Relief Services, most recently as the Campaign Content Manager, overseeing the development of prayer and advocacy resources aimed at promoting Catholic social teaching to a US-based audience. In that role, he had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Bosnia-Herzegovina and more and gather stories that demonstrated the power of solidarity, resilience and hope. While at CRS, he had the privilege of collaborating with peacebuilding professionals, integrating lessons learned from graduate work to help devise new ways of sharing stories of peace.
He has also managed social media channels for Maryknoll Lay Missioners, developed and directed retreats for the Sisters of Bon Secours and was an adjunct professor in the Mass Communication department at Towson University. His writing has appeared in America, National Catholic Reporter, US Catholic, Busted Halo, Amendo, Sojourners, Grotto Network and more, and he is a frequent contributor to Give Us This Day and IgnatianSpirituality.com, as well as Dork Side of the Force where he writes about Star Wars. When he’s not writing at the intersection of culture, peace and spirituality, he dabbles in speculative fiction and has been published by Air and Nothingness Press, Small Wonders Magazine, Black Hare Press, Medusa Tales Magazine, Erato Magazine and more.
His first book, Cannonball Moments: Telling Your Story Deepening Your Faith, has earned him numerous awards, including the 2023 Illumination Book Award Gold Medal in Christian Living; two 2023 Catholic Media Book Awards, including First Place for Pastoral Ministry for Youth and Young Adults, and Honorable Mention for Popular Presentation of the Catholic Faith; and, recognition as a 2023 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite. As part of the Jesuit Conference communications team, Eric won numerous 2024 Catholic Media Awards, including first place in both “Best Multimedia Package – Social Justice Issues” and “Best Package – Political Issues” for his work on “Fisheries to Farmlands: A Pilgrimage in Integral Ecology.” He won the 2022 Catholic Press First-Place Award in the “Best External Newsletter” for his weekly email reflections and second place in the “Best Initiative or Campaign Package” category for his “Ignatian Guide to Lent.” He was also awarded the 2021 Catholic Press First-Place Award for “Best Freestanding Online Video in Catechesis” and Honorable Mention for “Best External Newsletter.” He was the 2018 co-recipient of the Moira O’Donnell Emerging Leader Award, presented by the Ignatian Solidarity Network. He was a panelist for the Global Peace Foundation’s 2018 International Young Leaders Assembly at the World Bank, entitled “Moral and Innovative Leadership for Peace and Development.” And he was the 2011 Loyola Medal recipient at Fairfield University.
He has a BA in creative writing and international studies from Fairfield University and an MA in international media from American University. He also has a graduate-level certificate from Creighton University’s program in the Ignatian Tradition. He is a one-time hedgehog owner and a life-long Star Wars fan. Eric lives in Baltimore, MD with his wife, two young daughters and their cat, Sebastian.
