Nicole Young is a writer whose non-fiction work has been featured in Elle, YES!, Vox, Scalawag, and Bitch magazines. She’s a part of the editorial team of Jacaranda Books, working to bring a non-fiction book series on Black American culture to life.

Before becoming a writer, Nicole was executive director of Bard Early College in New Orleans and worked in the U.S. Department of Education and White House during the Obama administration. She was selected as an Aspen Summer Words Emerging Writers Fellow in 2023, attended the 2024 Tin House Summer Workshop, and received the 2024 Alonzo Davis Fellowship at The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Nicole previously served as a writer at The African American Policy Forum, co-host of the Kidlit These Days and Worth Noting podcasts, and contributing editor for Book Riot Media.

In addition to her freelance non-fiction writing, Nicole is dreaming up fantastical worlds for middle grade and young adult readers in her fiction novels and short stories.