Meet Katie Burkholder | Editor and Writer at Georgia Voice

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Burkholder and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
My original plan when I left high school was to be a therapist. A creative career wasn’t anywhere in my mind as something I wanted to pursue or even thought I was capable of. I started college with a psychology major and quickly realized it wasn’t for me — but I had no idea what I wanted to do instead. It was in an English class taught by the incredible podcaster and author Laurah Norton that I discovered I wanted to be a writer — she assigned a multi-media project about an object we brought with us to college, and it was such a diversion from the academic writing I had done in the past. It was fun and creative and exploratory, and it opened my eyes to what writing could be. I am usually a very thoughtful and careful decision-maker, but I decided to change my major to English completely on a whim — and it was the greatest decision of my life. My career fuels me in a way I cannot see another career doing. I am immensely grateful to my eighteen-year-old self for choosing to pursue what intuitively felt right, even if I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into at the time.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The unique thing about being a writer and editor for an established publication — especially one that serves a marginalized community, like Georgia Voice does — is that while of course my personal biases and tastes impact my work, there are external factors that impact what I make. I have to be aware of the audience and what they want to see, as well as the advertisers who fund our paper, while also being aware of the fact that we are an LGBTQ paper — a community that is not monolithic, that is incredibly diverse. I am a white cisgender woman; I do not want my own experience to dominate what we produce. In my personal creative endeavors, like poetry, I pour myself into my work. In my career, I am constantly trying to take myself and my own ego out of it. Georgia Voice is not mine, it’s the community’s, it’s the writers’. So, it’s an interesting position to be in to be the creative editorial lead, to be the person who is responsible for choosing what we cover, while trying to turn outward instead of inward. It’s incredibly rewarding.

It was not necessarily easy to get where I am today, but it was incredibly lucky. It was only a year into deciding I wanted to be a writer that I received an email in my inbox about a writing internship at an LGBTQ paper. It was only a couple months into that internship that a position opened up and the editor offered it to me, and it was only a couple years of dedicating myself to the publication, learning all I could about the community (one I was very new to), and becoming more comfortable as a writer before I was offered the interim position of editor before graduating from college. It was a combination of hard work and commitment with simply being in the right place at the right time. It was lucky the paper survived COVID. It was lucky I was even born into a situation where I was able to move to Atlanta and go to college at all. I am a talented writer and hard worker, but I am also incredibly lucky, which is honestly a crucial key to any creative career.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If we’re eating, we’re going to Wagaya. It is easily the best Japanese restaurant in the city. For a nicer dinner, I’d go for either Carroll Street Cafe for a steak or Planta for vegan sushi. We’d have to spend a day in Little Five Points: thrifting (or window shopping) and Psycho Sisters and Clothing Warehouse, admiring crystals and other witchy wares at Crystal Blue, and, if they’re here at the right time, going to Alt3r drag show that night at Star Bar. It’s only once a month, but it’s the best drag show in the city with the greatest community of people. We would see some local live music at 529 and then go dancing at The Basement in EAV.

If we wanted to venture out to Decatur, we would take a walk around Decatur Cemetery, go antiquing at Kudzu and Decatur Estate Vintage Market, and go to the Indian lunch buffet at Chai Pani.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I dedicate my entire career and identity as a writer and editor to Georgia Voice, specifically former editor Berlin Sylvestre, who originally hired me as an intern and believed in me enough to offer a part-time position at only 20 years old, and the publisher Tim Boyd, who has always supported me and expressed his utmost respect and belief in my work. The world of print and digital publishing is fraught right now, and I feel so lucky to have a publisher and leader who ardently respects me and treats me as an indispensable part of our team. The confidence I have in my work is very much thanks to him.

Website: thegavoice.com/author/kburkholder2/

Instagram: @katie.burkholder

Image Credits
Pride Grand Marshals photo courtesy of Atlanta Pride.