Katie Williams
Fiction Instructor
Professional Experience
- Proofreader, Enclave Publishing (2021 – present)
- Business Owner & Freelance Editor, Storyborn Creative Services (2021 – present)
- Associate Editor, Havok Publishing (2021)
- Workshop speaker and conference presenter (2017 – present)
- French Language and Literature Graduate Instructor, Ohio University (2009 – 2011)
Writings & Publications
- “Unfading” (Charis Woman, 2024)
- “A Liturgy for Those Envious of Another’s Answered Prayer” in Every Moment Holy, Volume III: The Work of the People (Rabbit Room Press, 2023)
- “Ember Keeper” in Prismatic: A Flash-Fiction Anthology (Havok Publishing, 2021)
- “Wholeness in the Wilderness: An Unexpected Journey to Healing” (The Joyful Life, 2020)
“The stories we live shape the stories we tell, and the stories we tell shape the stories we live. As an instructor, I’m passionate about this intersection, and it’s my joy to come alongside students and help them craft courageous tales of faith and hope, both on and off the page.”
– Katie Williams
Biography
Katie has always been a storyteller at heart. As a child, she wrote and illustrated her own stories and dreamed of becoming a novelist. But as she got older, academics, sports, and extracurriculars introduced a myriad of new passions and pressures to her life, and by the end of high school, her career aspirations were too numerous to count (or—let’s be honest—to achieve).
After changing her college major several times, Katie landed on a dual major in English and French. With a strong résumé shaping up around those pursuits, she decided to pursue a master’s degree in French with a focus on literature, aiming to complete a doctorate and become a college professor. She completed her master’s with honors and moved to France to prep for a PhD program, but while living overseas, she realized how much of her identity had become rooted in accolades and external approval, and she sensed the Lord calling her away from the “sure thing” of her 30-year game plan and inviting her into an adventure of faith and trust instead.
In obedience, she stepped away from the academic world, embarking on a decade-long journey through retail work, camp ministry, barista life, and emergency communications before returning to her first love, fantasy storytelling, with the launch of her editing business in 2021. She has worked with companies like Havok Publishing and Enclave Publishing, and her own writing (both fiction and nonfiction) has been featured in a variety of print and online publications. Katie also loves speaking on the intersection between faith and creativity, and she has presented at retreats and conferences around the Midwest.
Though Katie’s career path hasn’t turned out at all the way she anticipated, she wouldn’t trade the experiences she’s had along the way, the people she has met, or the ways she has grown. The Author Conservatory is exactly the kind of program Katie wishes would have existed when she was beginning her own college studies, and she is honored to be part of the team the Lord is using to bring this vision to life!
