Nikia Chaney is the author of three full-length poetry collections, Us Mouth (University of Hell Press, 2018), To Stir & (Word Works Press, 2022), and There Was This Bird (Poetry Northwest, forthcoming 2025). She has also written a memoir Ladybug (Inlandia, 2022) and a short science fiction collection Three Walking (Bamboo Dart Press, 2022).
From 2016 to 2018, she served as the Inlandia Literary Laureate. In addition to her literary work, she is an interdisciplinary textual artist whose visual poetry has been featured in galleries and journals such as After the Pause and The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry.
In 2023, she was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship for Established Artists by the California Arts Council, recognizing her contributions to poetry, community arts, and interdisciplinary expression.
Nikia is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Women’s Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), where her research focuses on Black women’s creative expression, spiritual traditions, and decolonial methodologies. She continues to write, create, and advocate for literary and visual arts and grass roots community service.