Ravi Howard, acclaimed author of Driving the King (HarperCollins) and PEN/Hemingway Award finalist Like, Trees, Walking (HarperCollins), is a literary force. Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award, Ravi has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Hurston-Wright Foundation. His impactful short fiction and essays have graced publications like The New York Times, while his commentary and fiction have enriched NPR's All Things Considered. A seasoned educator, Ravi imparts his creative wisdom at Florida State University, as an assistant professor in the creative writing.

For over forty years, The Center for Writers at USM has brought internationally acclaimed authors of poetry and fiction to Hattiesburg for public readings, workshops, and individual conferences with Center graduate students.