Meet the Editors: Nicole Brokaw

By Maya Carlson

Illustration by Georgia Riordan

Nicole is a senior at Ithaca College double majoring in writing and film. She has dabbled in poetry, possesses a fascination and appreciation for magical realism, but ultimately prefers writing nonfiction, specifically memoir and personal essay. Her gravitation toward nonfiction is influenced by her motto of “writing what you know.” An avid lover of the genre, Nicole recognizes that it poses many creative restrictions; she manages to maintain her creative liberty in fiction. Though her fictional stories depict alternate worlds and diverse characters, they weave in aspects drawn from her personal life. Thus, Nicole’s writing—regardless of genre—grounds itself through her experiences, offering both truth and magic.

What’s most peculiar is Nicole’s double major in film. When she first arrived at Ithaca, she wanted to explore both film and theater as potential minors. With no film minor available Nicole chose to pursue the major. Then, during her sophomore year of college, Nicole made a documentary that placed in three film festivals. However, the pinnacle of her filmmaking career was when her documentary won the audience-chosen award in the home and family category in the Marcellus Mini Movie Family Film Festival.

Last spring Nicole was poetry’s runner-up in the Ithaca College Writing Contest, a result she considers odd since she does not view herself as a poet. Nicole also won first place in the Wizarding Weekend Flash Fiction Contest in Fall 2018, and some of her works have been published in Distinct and Odyssey.