Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laci Hector. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Laci, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Throughout my life, I’ve had the desire to share my work with others. From a young age, I wrote stories and drew to my heart’s content, and I always dreamed of becoming a writer (like many others). When I started college, I shied away from majoring in English because I was told it would be a dead-end unless I wanted to become a teacher, but an amazing advisor within the Olinde Career Center at LSU helped me realize that there were many different things I could do with my degree. Changing my major was the first step to me thinking, “Maybe I can do this.” I credit the wonderful professors and instructors I had throughout my time in undergrad with giving me the boost I needed to really put myself out there. I remember the first time I heard about submitting to literary magazines, and I even got a couple of works published within the first few months of submitting.

Once I graduated from college, I was fortunate enough to get a job at a local magazine in Baton Rouge, Louisiana called <i>Country Roads</i>. I really got to see the ins and outs of what goes into running and creating a magazine every month, and the amount of love and care that everyone puts towards every piece. I loved my time with the magazine and wondered what I could bring to the literary community that I had become a part of. <i>Livina Press</i> had been a thought at the back of my mind for a while, an homage to my grandmother and the stories I never got to hear from her. My partner and my friends were monumental in supporting me towards actually designing the website and finally moving forward with making <i>Livina Press</i> a reality. So, on one chilly January morning in 2022, I saw <i>Livina Press</i> come to life.

Laci, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

<i>Livina Press</i> first started as a passion project for me as a newly graduated English major in early 2022. I first thought of creating my own literary magazine when I was towards the end of my bachelor’s degree at Louisiana State University (LSU), but it took nearly a year for me to make it a reality. My main goal was to give writers a place to share their work without any constraints, with specific thematic guidelines or specific genres. The underlying theme of <i>Livina Press</i> has always been “whatever you want to write about is what we want to read,” and now, three years later, that remains the case.

As a quarterly print magazine, <i>Livina Press</i> publishes four standard issues a year, with one issue being themed as a way to mix things up, and I launched Midnight Ink in 2024. <i>Midnight Ink</i> is Livina Press’s spooky venture that’s published once a year around Halloween–perfect for your spooky reading season. We have also done a few different “special issues.” The regular issues all have the same guidelines, but the special issues have a certain theme/subject they’re created for. The very first special issue was “Fight for Reproductive Rights” as a result of Roe v. Wade being overturned in 2022, and all proceeds went to the Center for Reproductive Rights. The second special issue was “Womanhood,” published around International Women’s Day in 2025, and all proceeds went to Women for Women International. The third special issue is “Homeland,” and all proceeds will be going to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

As a creative space, I believe it’s important to lift up writers and their work as well as use my platform to try to make a difference. My ultimate goal with <i>Livina Press</i> is to continue to give others the opportunity to share their work without the worry that they’re not conforming to specific requirements for how they can write, while also doing what I can to support important causes where I can.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

What I think society can do to best support artists, creatives, and a thriving creative ecosystem is to actually show their support, be it sharing someone’s published work or buying some of their art, or encouraging them in whatever it is they’re working towards. I’ve seen a large pushback against humanities and creative outlets my entire life, and as someone who changed her major to English in college, I remember the looks and remarks I received. But when it comes to supporting creatives, a simple like or share can be the difference in whether or not they continue to share their work with the world. Even if someone’s particular way of creating isn’t inline with what you like, it can make the world just a little bit brighter.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creator is the ability to give other creatives a space to share their work. Creating a tangible, beautiful magazine four times a year and giving others a chance to share their work with a large audience is always an amazing experience. I get to meet so many wonderful and talented people, and I never would have thought that Livina Press would ever grow into what it is. Every day I’m amazed at the impact Livina Press has had and continues to have, and especially when I’ve been able to be the first person to ever publish someone’s work (which has happened a few times!), it’s a fantastic experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.livinapress.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/livinapress
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BWipbEeBy/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/livinapress