Name: Ashley Anne Howard
Major: BFA Writing, Literature and Publishing (Fiction focus)
Year of Graduation: 2017
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Three words to describe yourself: quirky, ambitious, passionate
Why Emerson? I chose Emerson because I wanted the best, and I feel like Emerson is the best. I love the students, I love the city, and most importantly, I love the experiences I’m having here. The most important thing for me when choosing a college was finding a school that respected my creative outlets and fostered them, and of course didn’t involve math!
What are you involved with on campus? I am the Assistant Fiction Editor on The Emerson Review, I am a copyeditor for Your Magazine Emerson, and I copyedit for Undergraduate Students For Publishing (Pub Club). I am also an editorial intern at Ploughshares Literary Journal.
What do you like to do in your free time? Because I’m so ADD, I would say my free time consists of a lot of things. I equally enjoy writing, crocheting, impulse buying, decorating, leaving my mom voicemails, and spending time with my friends.
Who are some writers that have influenced you? From a literary fiction perspective, I would say Joseph Conrad was the most influential on my current style. His novel Heart of Darkness was the first piece of literary fiction I’d ever read that I truly loved the prose, and I wanted to mimic that prose. I had never had that experience until I read it in my senior of high school. From a genre fiction perspective, I am a die-hard Harry Potter fan, and was incredibly influenced as a child by Rowling’s series. I attribute much of the reason for my dream of becoming a writer to Harry Potter.
What is your dream career? I would like to be an author. My dream would be to be a full-time author, writing and publishing fiction novels. On a more realistic note, I’d like to work in publishing–either as an editor or agent–and write as much as I can.
What is your guilty pleasure? Cocoa Swirl Cookie Butter
Favorite quote: “It is not length of life, but depth of life.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Favorite book as a kid: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Favorite spot in Boston: The dock at the Esplanade