Curious. Independent. Always moving.

If you’ve landed here, you probably want to know more about the person behind Creative Boom. I’m Katy – a writer, founding editor and mentor, driven by a lifelong fascination with creativity and the people brave enough to build a life around it.

Katy Cowan, a woman with shoulder-length brown wavy hair, wearing a dark jacket over a white shirt, standing in an industrial-style interior with exposed brick walls and hanging pipes, smiling at the camera.

My Background

From journalism to PR and marketing, and back again.

I began my career as a broadcast journalist in 2000, when I learned the value of listening well, thinking clearly, and asking the right questions. Later, co-founding a PR and digital consultancy showed me how creativity operates inside organisations – and how easily it can be shaped by commercial pressure.

In 2009, Creative Boom grew out of that experience. I wanted to build something that celebrated creative work without reducing it to trends or metrics – a space that prioritised people, ideas, and honest conversation.

Today, Creative Boom is a magazine, a podcast and a community. And lately I've taken on something new on the side: mentoring a small number of creative founders and freelancers, one-to-one.

Katy Cowan, a woman with wavy brown hair, smiling slightly, turned over her shoulder, wearing a dark brown top, with a brick wall in the background.

What I believe

Everyone deserves a boost.

Creative Boom started in a recession. A lot of my friends were brilliant and completely stuck – full of talent, short on the kind of media know-how I'd picked up over the years – and back then the creative industry press didn't want to know unless you were already famous. That never sat right with me. So I built a magazine of my own and started giving those people a voice.

The rule was simple, and it still is: it doesn't matter what you look like or how long you've been at it. If the work's good, we'll feature you and give you a boost. Sometimes that's a bit of exposure. Often it's just a nudge of confidence, the feeling that someone's got your back. I've watched that small thing change how thousands of creatives see themselves.

I come from a long line of women who love to look after people, so my work was always going to take this shape. It makes me happy, plain and simple. Which is why moving that same support into one-to-one mentoring feels like the natural next step.

Testimonials

"Katy is an intelligent, generous and unpretentious force in the creative industry. She has consistently poured herself into Creative Boom for the better part of two decades, taking risks that deserve real celebration. A strong female founder championing creativity, she’s an inspiration to many."

Joy Nazzari – Founder of DNCO

"In a world full of endlessly slick content and polished, pre-packaged opinions, it’s refreshing to have someone like Katy cut through the noise. As a host, she’s willing to respond in the moment rather than stick rigidly to a script, making for far more engaging, authentic conversations. It’s exactly the kind of energy the world needs more of."

James Greenfield – CEO & Founder at Koto

"I've known Katy for almost 20 years, and for every single one of those years she's shown up in the most epic way. Always brimming with ideas and energy, she's packed with raw talent and has a unique gift for journalism and media, turning everything she touches to gold. Onwards!”

Cat How – Founder of How&How

"Katy’s one of the good ones. She builds communities, shares knowledge, and supports people. She’s a brilliant cheerleader for everything that’s great about our industry. It’s hard to sum up her impact. She gives so much to all of us, and she’s done it through the good times and the hard ones. That kind of dedication is as inspiring as it is generous."

Simon Dixon – DixonBaxi