How Edward Ashton Wrote His Own Story
From having a novel adapted for a Hollywood film to helping create a groundbreaking cancer drug, the 1991 graduate proves that a Loyola degree can take you anywhere Claire Hoffman Pepose, ’07
When Edward Ashton, Ph.D., ’91, walked into his first creative writing class at Loyola, he had already been writing stories for years—and submitting them to magazines since high school. He thought he was pretty good. Then he met Karen Fish, associate professor of writing.
Courtesy of Edward Ashton, Ph.D., ’91.
“In the first class I took with her my freshman year, she made it very clear to me that I was not great!” Ashton recalled with a laugh. “I had a lot to learn.”
There are two ways to take that kind of feedback, he said. “You can say, ‘Boy, I’m really mad.’ Or you can say, ‘Hey, this is somebody who’s going to help me become better.’ I took that second route.”
Ashton went on to take every creative writing course Loyola offered, including two independent studies with Fish. He even received a fellowship from Loyola’s Center for the Humanities to write a novel under her supervision. “She’s one of the people I would cite as a founder of my career,” he said.
Today, Ashton is the author of popular sci-fi novels including Three Days in April (2015), The End of Ordinary (2017), and Mickey7 (2022). The latter was recently adapted into the 2025 film Mickey 17, directed by Bong Joon-ho and starring Robert Pattinson.
Despite his love of writing, Ashton majored in electrical engineering at Loyola. “Loyola was one of the few schools that had an engineering program but also emphasized the liberal arts,” he explained.
He was also a four-year member of the men’s varsity swim team, serving as captain his senior year. “Athletics has always been a big part of my identity. I believe in developing both mind and body like the Ancient Greeks did,” he said. “Loyola supported that.”
After graduation, Ashton earned his Ph.D. in Medical Imaging from the University of Rochester, co-founded a biotech startup, and now works as a cancer researcher. His team recently had a drug approved for pediatric glioblastoma, leading to a 60% cure rate in trials.
“There are 262 children alive right now who would not be if that work had not been done,” he said. “That’s incredibly rewarding.”
While his scientific background doesn’t necessarily drive his fiction, it does help ensure accuracy. “It drives me nuts when I read sci-fi where it’s obvious the author doesn’t understand the science,” he pointed out. “My background gives me the foundation to know where I need to dig deeper.”
These days, Ashton lives in a cabin in the woods in upstate New York, balancing his day job with writing, swimming, long walks with his dog, and time with his wife and three adult children. When asked what advice he’d give to Loyola students, he doesn’t hesitate.
Don’t let people pigeonhole you, human beings aren’t meant to do just one thing. We can do a million different things. That’s what brings joy and balance.
If you’re a physics major, read a book. If you’re an artist, take a math class, he advised. “Loyola forces you to engage with history, art, religion, philosophy— and that balance is essential to becoming a better citizen, a better thinker, and a happier person.”
Ashton remains deeply grateful to the University. “I was a poor kid from West Virginia, and they gave me a free education,” he said. “I hope I’ve paid that forward through the work I’ve done and the impact I’ve tried to make.”