University of Oklahoma students Stephanie Simpson, Jason Nolan, and Sydney Huggins have been awarded first, second, and third place, respectively, in the 2024 Neustadt Lit Fest poster design project. The students participated in the competition as part of an annual collaboration sponsored by World Literature Today and the University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts.
Simpson’s winning design will be used in all the promotional materials for the 2024 Neustadt Festival, slated for Oct. 21–23 on the OU campus. The festival’s schedule of events and full list of featured writers, artists, and scholars are available online.
Renowned Mauritian writer Ananda Devi, the 2024 laureate of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, will headline the festival. Nine visiting writers will also convene as the jury to select the winner of the 2025 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s & Young Adult Literature and give readings from their works.
Since 2011, School of Visual Arts undergraduate coordinator Karen Hayes-Thumann has incorporated the poster competition as an assignment in her sophomore course in visual communication. During the spring semester, WLT’s art director, Parker Buske, and editor in chief, Daniel Simon, met with students in person to provide feedback and help them refine their concepts. The WLT staff then chose the winners from among the final designs.
“It is a difficult task to follow up the unique designs from each year’s student poster contest,” said Buske, “and this year we had some very impressive entries. We’re always looking for an original take on the festival and a design that will attract a diverse demographic of individuals to participate in the events. After the tough task of narrowing down to five finalists, Stephanie’s illustration really stood out as she presented a strong and striking depiction of our Neustadt winner, Ananda Devi. I feel that her design will represent our festival in a new and sophisticated way, while bringing a creative touch to our mission. Really wonderful job to Stephanie, and congratulations to all the students who submitted entries to this year’s contest!”
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and moving between Panama and Oklahoma later in life, Stephanie Simpson is an energetic Panamanian American student designer who enjoys drawing and creating colorful and illustrative concepts. She’s currently in her junior year at OU in the visual communications program.
Jason Nolan is also a visual communications major at the University of Oklahoma. About thirty minutes away is his hometown of Oklahoma City. What keeps him motivated are his friends and classmates. His goal is to have a career where he can incorporate graphic design with his interests in sports and music. He hopes that he can inspire people not only through his work but also with his energetic and fun personality as well.
Sydney Huggins is a student from Grapevine, Texas, and is currently pursuing her passion for visual communications and digital marketing at the University of Oklahoma. Outside the classroom, Sydney is actively involved in various campus organizations such as OU Homecoming, serves in the college ministry at Paradigm Church, and enjoys doing independent design work as well.
