Lukeman was born on 28 November 1973, in New York City, the son of Brenda Shoshanna, a psychologist and author. After earning a BA in English and Creative Writing at Brandeis University, Lukeman worked for various publishers, including William Morrow and Farrar, Straus and Giroux. In 1996 Lukeman founded the Lukeman Literary Agency, in which capacity he acted as agent for a number of successful authors. Lukeman has also acted in a few independent films.

Lukeman's writing is diverse in nature. His first published works offered advice and techniques for writers. Since then, he has collaborated with an American general to write about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has written a sequel to Shakespeare's Macbeth in blank verse, which was well-received by critics.. Lukeman has also written a screenplay, Brothers in Arms, which is set to film in 2010.

Non-fiction

• (1999) The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying out of the Rejection Pile, Simon & Schuster ISBN 9780684857435
• (2002) The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life, St. Martins Press, ISBN 9780312309282
• (2006) A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation, WW Norton (US) ISBN 9780393329803, Oxford University Press (UK)

Collaborations

with Michael DeLong:

• (2004) Inside CentCom: The Unvarnished Truth about the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Regenery Publishing ISBN 9780895260208
• (2007) A General Speaks Out: The Truth About the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Zenith Publishing, ISBN 9780760330487

Screenplays

• Brothers in Arms

Plays

• (2008) The Seed of Banquo, Pegasus, ISBN 9781605980119