Livingston ’21 a Finalist in a Worldwide Writing Contest

Wesleyan English major Katie Livingston ’21 is one of 12 young writers around the world who will be honored at the 36th Annual L. Rob Hubbard Achievement Awards on April 3 in Hollywood, Calif.

She’s a finalist for the Writers of the Future Contest, which was initiated by Hubbard in 1983 to provide “a means for new and budding writers to have a chance for their creative efforts to be seen and acknowledged.” Based on its success, its sister contest, Illustrators of the Future, was created five years later to provide that same opportunity for aspiring artists.

The grand prize winners will each receive $5,000. Quarterly winners also receive cash prizes from $500 to $1,000. Their winning stories and illustrations will appear in the annual anthology L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future Volume 36 (Galaxy Press, April 2020).

Oklahoma native Livingston spent her high school years tending chickens and writing speculative fiction novels. She’s a fan of Stephen King novels, ’80s horror flicks, rural living, and cats—all of which inspire her work. Her submission for the Writers of the Future Contest addresses the themes of rural living and religion.

At Wesleyan, she’s the assistant opinion editor for The Wesleyan Argus; a thesis mentor in the Shapiro Writing Center; a teaching assistant for the course, American Literature 1865-1945; the design editor for Sthoscope Press; an assistant in the Writing Certificate Program; and assists with grant-funded work in the writing center. On weekends, she works in the Usdan Café.

Livingston hopes to attend graduate school for American literature so that she can continue learning, reading, and writing.

Watch a video about Livingston online here.