Biography
About Me
Nico Bailey was born and raised in Central New Jersey with a passion for telling stories since her first word (which was “ball,” by the way). She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English: Emphasis in Creative Writing and Political Science in 2019 and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Writing in 2022.
The Kelsey Review (as seen in “Erika Krouse’s Ranking of 500-ish Literary Magazines for Short Fiction” and The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses series) published Nico’s debut story “Pas de Deux” in their Fall 2023 issue, and “Pas de Deux” has been nominated for a 2025 Pushcart Prize.
While fiction is Nico’s first literary love, she also has experience writing in academic, business and technical, creative nonfiction, criticism, editorial and opinion, journalism, play and screen, and poetry settings
Outside of writing, Nico enjoys reading fiction books and nonfiction books on history and theory, playing video games, spending time with her two cats, Artemis and Luna, producing electronic music, studying and researching new interests, watching anime and reading manga, and thrifting. She spends most of her time trying to be the Renaissance (wo)man her parents can brag about during holidays and family gatherings.
Awards & Publications
2025 Excessive and Spurious Emotion, descant
2025 Pushcart Prize Nominee
2024 This Nothing That They Dream, Catamaran Literary Reader
2023 Pas de Deux, Kelsey Review
2022 Master of Fine Arts in Writing, University of New Hampshire
Friends of the Blog
Baylee Writes: freelance writer and published poet
Andi Illustrations: digital, mixed media, and traditional artist
Michael James Metoyer II: environment and 3D artist