Bailey Lewis
Curriculum Vitae

Installations & Exhibitions

  • ArtFields Festival, Lake City, SC - public art grant recipient, public art installation - The Gumball Machine of Great Fortune  (April 2026 - present)

  • Found Oracles, interactive storytelling website (from October 2025)

  • CONNECT Conference, The Duck Pond of Great Fortune (November 2024)

  • FW Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA, Flying House exhibition, Postcards from an Alien Landscape (October 2013)

Publications 

  • “Tools for Foretelling the Future,” curated collection for The Curationist (June 2026)

  • Found Oracles, interactive storytelling website - ongoing artist project (from October 2025)

  • The Chief Marketer's Playbook, "Guiding Audience-Focused Content CreationIn An Evolving Digital Era," The CMO Club (February 2024)

  • Adobe Blog, "Create digital content directly in wireframes and prototypes for more intentional, engaging experiences," commissioned article (January 2022)

  • Adobe Design Thinking,  "Digital Content is About What People Are Trying to Do," commissioned article, reprinted and translated into Japanese (September 2021)

  • Paper Darts, "When the South Wind Blows, Glass Shatters and Disappears Like Rain" - listed in The Wigleaf Top 50 (March 2014)

  • Northwind, "Séance" - nominated for the Pushcart Prize, awarded second place in Northwind Fiction Contest (November 2013)

  • Flying House Anthology #4, "Postcards from an Alien Landscape" (October 2013)

  • Iowa Gothic (May 2013, novel thesis)

  • Mid-American Review, "Severance" - mention, awarded Sherwood Anderson Award finalist (March 2012 )

  • Black Fox Literary Magazine, "Twenty-Three" (July 2011)

  • Dr. Hurley's Snake-Oil Cure, "Leftovers" - awarded in 100-word story contest (June 2011) 

  • Our Stories, "Gutter" - awarded second place in Emerging Writer Contest (March 2009) 

  • Ongoing Substack posts

  • Readings from original writings, various locations

Awards, Grants & Fellowships

  • Public Art Grant Recipient, ArtFields Festival, Lake City, SC - The Gumball Machine of Great Fortune (April - May 2026)

  • The Wigleaf Top 50, listing, "When the South Wind Blows, Glass Shatters and Disappears Like Rain," published in Paper Darts (2014)

  • Pushcart Nomination, "Séance," published by Northwind, awarded second place Northwind Fiction Contest (November 2013)

  • Dean's Thesis Fellowship Recipient - outstanding creative excellence in a thesis - for Iowa Gothic (August 2012 - May 2013)

  • Finalist, Mid-American Review Sherwood Anderson Award, for "Severance" (March 2012 )

  • Winner, Dr. Hurley's Snake-Oil Cure 100-Word Story Contest for "Leftovers" (June 2011) 

  • Winner, Our Stories Emerging Writer Contest for "Gutter" (March 2009)

Interactive & Experiential Storytelling Design

  • Owner/Operator, Interactive Storytelling and Content Strategy Consultancy - Words First, various projects (January 2022 - March 2025)

  • Director of UX Content Strategy, various projects (April 2015 - December 2021)

  • UX Web Writer, various projects (August 2013 - April 2015)

  • Drunken Boat - editorial & web production staff (June 2013 - April 2015)

  • The Ground I Stand On Is Not My Ground - book designer (Drunken Boat, 2014)

  • Hide-and-Seek Muse - book designer (Drunken Boat, 2013) 

  • Yemassee Literary Journal - co-editor-in-chief (August 2012 - May 2013), fiction editor (August 2011 - July 2012)

  • Editorial director and staff, various literary and art journals

Talks & Keynotes 

  • Girls State PGS, Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC, Your Weakness Is Your Greatest Strength (June 2025, June 2026)

  • CONNECT Conference, Columbia, SC, Your Weakness Is Your Greatest Strength (November 2025)

  • Content for the People - host and co-host, monthly storytelling conversations (January - June 2024)

  • Carolinas Association of Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society Annual Conference, Asheville, NC - closing keynote (November 2023)

  • Association for Talent Development South Carolina, Columbia, SC - guest speaker (June 2023)

  • United States Senate Staff, Washington, D.C. - guest speaker (June 2022)

  • Booking Manager Summit, Zagreb, Croatia - keynote speaker (November 2020, November 2021) 

  • World Usability Day, Cleveland, OH - general session speaker (October 2019)

  • UXPA International, Scottsdale, AZ - featured speaker (June 2019)

  • Other keynotes, workshops, talks, and sessions (various venues)

Education

  • Master's of Fine Arts, Creative Writing (with distinction) - University of South Carolina (2010-2013)

  • Bachelor's of the Arts, English Literature (with honors) - Iowa State University (2006 - 2010)

  • Bachelor's of the Arts, Creative Advertising (with honors) - Iowa State University (2006 - 2010)