Katelyn Wilder

Global Wales Postgraduate Award, Bangor University - Creative Writing

Katelyn spent her North Carolina childhood "playing" others on stage and diving into literature. She discovered that this required both an understanding of and an openness to personal experiences across the world. Exploring stories filled her free time, and she began writing novels. At Appalachian State University, something divine moved her to deviate from her “more practical” life plan and write full time. As she grew more confident, she returned home to produce plays she wrote and teach creative writing workshops. Gradually, she became more specific about the changes she wanted to see in the world, who she would inspire and whose stories she wanted to highlight. Many Welsh poets and novelists have inspired her, as has Wales' turbulent coal history and successful sustainable present. Their willpower motivated Katelyn to work towards this project under the mentorship of Bangor University's astonishing creative writing staff by writing a cli-fi short story collection inspired by research and interviews with sustainability activists and scholars in both Wales and Appalachia. These misunderstood communities are working towards sustainability, connectivity, and a happier world, and Katelyn can only hope her project will do them justice.