M.A. Nicholson is a New Orleans poet, editor, educator, journalist, and arts administrator. An alumna of Loyola University and a M.F.A. graduate from the University of New Orleans—where she served as Associate Poetry Editor for Bayou Magazine—M.A. was the recipient of the 2021 Andrea-Saunders Gereighty Academy of American Poets Award and was selected for publication in Best New Poets 2022. Her debut poetry collection Around the Gate  (Word Works Books, 2024) was selected by judge Carolyne Wright as a winner for the Hilary Tham Capital Collection prize. M.A. is a co-founder of LMNL Arts, an non-profit organization connecting and supporting writers in New Orleans and beyond. Connect with M.A. at www.michellenicholsonpoetry.com