Kaytie Nielsen

Kaytie Nielsen writes “about misfits, underground communities, and surprising places of healing.”

Nielsen’s storytelling spans film, television, and live cultural programming. Her writing is marked by curiosity about contradiction and resilience, drawing out the humor and tenderness in lives that exist outside the mainstream. Her work often blends cultural commentary with intimate character studies, illuminating the ways identity and community are formed in unexpected places.

Nielsen grew up near Fort Worth in “a typical Texan family with a not-so-typical family business: a theatrical costume shop.” As writer and filmmaker, she co-directed Mariannes Noires, a documentary on Afro-French womanhood, and co-founded the USB Project to amplify London’s underground music scene. She has worked in film and television production, including on HBO’s Divorce, and her screenwriting has been recognized by the BlueCat TV Writing Competition and the BBC Comedy Script Room. As a Marshall scholar, she pursued graduate study in history and English literature in London, where she also developed grassroots cultural programming supported by Arts Council England and the mayor of London.