Eric K. Washington is a New York City-based independent historian. His most recent book, Boss of the Grips: The Life of James H. Williams and the Red Caps of Grand Central Terminal (Liveright/W.W. Norton), a biography of a once influential Harlem-based labor figure of the American railroad. The book was a winner of the Herbert H. Lehman Prize, a winner of the GANYC Apple Award and a finalist for the Brendan Gill Prize. It was also cited among Open Letters Review 's 10 Best Biographies of 2019, and The Bowery Boys Podcast's 10 Favorite Books of 2019.

His first book, Manhattanville: Old Heart of West Harlem (Arcadia), was a richly imaged local history that inspired the permanent interpretive signage in West Harlem Piers Park, a design project that was awarded the 2010 MASterworks Award from the Municipal Art Society of New York.