Elly Fishman’s work as a journalist and author chronicles stories of struggle and resilience inside American cities. Her reporting has earned her numerous awards, including several Peter Lisagor awards, City and Regional Magazine Association awards, and the Pattis Family Foundation award.
For her book Refugee High: Coming of Age in America, Fishman was awarded the Studs and Ida Terkel Award for a first book in the public interest. The Washington Post praised the book as an "absorbing account" of life inside an American high school and Refugee High was named a best book of the year by National Public Radio, the Chicago Public Library and others. Fishman lives in Milwaukee with her husband and their daughter. She is a Chicago native and graduate of the University of Chicago.
Select Recent Work
An Uncountable Diaspora, Rolling Stone, 2024
Trapped at O'Hare, Rolling Stone, 2024
The year Mahbuba found her voice, WBEZ, 2023
What $500 Means to Zinida Moore, Chicago magazine, 2023
The First 12 Weeks of Motherhood, WBEZ, 2023
The Violin Doctor, Chicago Magazine, 2023