SPOTLIGHT.
KATIE GOH
Photos by Alice Meikle
INTRODUCTION
Katie Goh has been a cog in the wheel of Scottish culture for quite some time now. She moves in wide circles, and her talent, hard work and influence is respected by many in the creative industries.
Katie (she/they) is a writer, critic and editor, covering culture for publications like i-D, VICE, Huck, the Guardian and gal-dem, and is Intersections Editor for The Skinny. In 2019, Katie was shortlisted for PPA Scotland’s Young Journalist of the Year award and, in 2021, she was shortlisted for the inaugural Anne Brown Essay Prize, presented by Wigtown Book Festival and BBC Scotland. Her first book, The End: Surviving the World Through Imagined Disasters is out now with 404 Ink. Katie is a member of the UK Film Critics’ Circle and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.
INTERVIEW
How did you get into journalism? What initially inspired you to write?
I’ve always been interested in writing and magazines, but it wasn’t until I was at university in Edinburgh, studying for a Masters in modern literature, that I started writing outside of my studies. I began writing book reviews for The Skinny and film reviews for different online magazines. One commission led to another before freelance writing became a job!
I’ve always been interested in cultural criticism and I found that arts journalism fulfilled my creativity more than academia, so I went down this path instead. I’ve always been excited and inspired by criticism that leans towards the personal, and try to incorporate that in my own writing.
Can you tell us about The End and why you wanted to write this book?
The End is a personal and cultural exploration of disasters in books, movies and TV shows. I’ve always been fascinated by our collective cultural obsession with the end of the world - it looms over so much of culture! While The End isn’t a book just about COVID-19, it was certainly born out of that specific context as well as the climate crisis, contemporary political turmoil and unequal economic systems. The book uses a framework of fiction and cultural criticism to examine the very real crises we are living through.
What would you like to see more of in the Scottish creative industries?
Transparency. In 2020, there was a lot of talk in the Scottish (and UK-wide) arts industries around “building back better” after lockdown. So far, I’ve been disheartened to hear and see that institutions aren’t making the changes they promised a year ago around fairer pay, workers’ rights and anti-racism and anti-sexism policies. I would like to see arts organisations enacting structural changes rather than posting cute graphics on social media.
I would also like to see more artists speak out and support staff who work in arts organisations in more precarious job positions, like front of house and bar staff, technicians, cleaners and freelance workers. Without them, there wouldn’t be a creative industry, yet they were the first to be made redundant by arts institutions at the start of the pandemic.
What advice would you have for creatives of colour looking to get published?
Journalism and publishing are brutally competitive industries that have historically been dominated by white men, so you need to have faith in yourself and your project. Nothing is going to fall into your lap, so actively pursue the career you envision for yourself. Email writers you admire, approach editors and don’t be disheartened by hearing no. Find peers who are on a similar path to you and work together. And ask your white colleagues how much they’re being paid.
What are you currently working on?
The End has just been published, so right now I’m mostly taking a moment to breathe! I’m working on promoting the book as well as some freelance writing projects, like an essay that will be published in the next issue of Extra Teeth, out in late November. I’m also continuing to edit the Intersections pages of The Skinny and work my day job which is in arts marketing.