Columbus State University’s Carson McCullers Center for Writers & Musicians has named author, playwright and musician Howard Fishman the winner of its 19th annual Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers. As this year’s writing fellow, he will live and work in Carson McCullers’s childhood home, the Smith-McCullers House, in Columbus this fall.

Fishman adds his accomplishments in theatre and music to the Smith Fellowship’s traditional writing focus. Dr. Nick Norwood, director of the McCullers Center, stated that Fishman’s diverse background in multiple creative genres will result in a unique fellowship experience.

“Howard has such an interesting career underway,” Norwood said. “His book on Connie Converse is really interesting and important—exploring as it does the life and work of the under-appreciated singer/songwriter whose story is both inspiring and mysterious.”

Fishman is an author, musician, composer, theatre-maker and cultural essayist based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, and his writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The Telegraph, Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe, ArtForum, The Village Voice, and The San Francisco Chronicle. His writing credits include his book debut, "To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse," and his New York Times “Critics Pick” original play, "A Star Has Burnt My Eye."

His early days as a street musician in New Orleans influenced his passion for jazz, soul, country, blues and gospel music. For more than two decades, he has toured internationally and performed on bills with cellist Yo Yo Ma, saxophonist Maceo Parker, and singer-songwriter Andrew Bird—among other notables. He has released 11 albums to date and produced the album “Connie’s Piano Songs: The Art Songs of Elizabeth ‘Connie’ Converse.”