About



Jackie Mantey is a writer and artist based in Cleveland.

Jackie has worked as a professional writer and creative leader since 2008, when she graduated from Kent State University with an honor’s degree in Magazine Journalism. She has written about art, education, and technology for nearly two decades. Her creative nonfiction has been published in books by Rustbelt Publishing and Reedy Press, as well as numerous news and creative media outlets including Chicago Magazine, Bitch Magazine, Intima Journal of Narrative Medicine, and The Columbus Dispatch, among others.

Her writing has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Press Club of Cleveland’s Excellence in Journalism Awards, including Best in Ohio: Freelance Writer for her portfolio of work in 2014. And in 2021 she was a creative nonfiction finalist in Midwest Review’s Great Midwest Writing Contest.

Jackie’s visual art practice includes embroidery, painting, and mixed media. She hand-embroiders new stories onto found and historical photographs — a practice she began in 2016 while in early substance abuse recovery. Since then, visual art has been a meditative, healing, and joyful act she prioritizes while working as a writer.

Her visual art has been exhibited in solo and group shows at Slate Arts Gallery, Fulton Street Collective, and The Latent Space Gallery in Chicago, as well as Hubbell Street Galleries in San Francisco and Valley Art Center in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Her art has been published in Uppercase magazine and Lover’s Eye Press, among others.

WRITING


  • Award winner, Addy Awards, American Advertising Federation, Chicago, Project digital lead writer and content strategist, Lenovo Late Night IT, 2024
  • Creative Nonfiction Finalist: Great Midwest Writing Contest, Midwest Review, 2020
  • Contributing writer, Big Mess literary journal, 2023
  • Contributing essayist and artist, Intima Journal of Narrative Medicine, 2021
  • Podcast co-creator and host, Zero Proof Book Club, 2019–2020
  • Essayist, included in the book Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook, published by Belt Publishing, 2019
  • Storyteller, You’re Being Ridiculous, Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, Chicago, June 2019
  • Contributing writer, 186 magazine, Award of Excellence: Print long form, CSCA Creative Best Awards Show, 2019
  • Author, Gone, Country, companion book for monographic exhibition of artwork at Slate Gallery, Chicago, published by lo-class, 2018
  • Silver Addy Award winner, CCA Brand, American Advertising Federation, Columbus, Project lead writer, 2018
  • Storyteller, Filet of Solo Festival, Chicago, 2017
  • Judge’s Choice award winner, Addy Awards, American Advertising Federation, Columbus, Project lead writer, 2017
  • Author, travel book 100 Things to Do in Columbus Before You Die, published by Reedy Press, 2016
  • Best Freelance Writer in Ohio, Press Club of Cleveland’s Excellence in Journalism Awards, 2014
  • First Place Arts Reporting, small print publications, Society of Professional Journalists, Ohio, 2014

VISUAL ART


  • Contributing artist, group exhibition of work, Valley Art Center, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, November-December 2023
  • Contributing artist, Journey / Explore, group exhibition of work, Fulton Street Collective, Chicago, December 2021
  • Contributing artist, The Latent Space Christmas Show, group exhibition of work, The Latent Space Gallery, Chicago, December 2021
  • Contributing artist, Uppercase magazine, issue #46, July–September 2020
  • Visual designer, The Open Studio, Chicago, 2020-2021
  • Contributing visual artist, Quaranzine, May 2020
  • Contributing literary artist, LOCUS III, The Martin, Chicago, March 2020
  • Contributing artist, CCA@CCA Artwork Campaign, Hubbell Street Galleries, San Francisco, November 2020
  • Featured artist, The Write City Review, published by the Chicago Writers Association, 2018
  • Contributing artist, Show Your Work series wall installation, Slate Arts + Performance Gallery, Chicago, December 2019–January 2020
  • Contributing artist, CONNECT, group exhibition of work, Slate Arts + Performance Gallery, Chicago, April 2019
  • Selected art, Lover’s Eye Press, literary and arts magazine, Issue 3, 2022
  • Selected photography, Barren Magazine, literary and arts magazine, Issue 6: “Distance in Lines,” 2019
  • Selected photography, Honey & Lime, literary and arts magazine, Issue 2: “Dancing into Oblivion,” 2019
  • Artist + producer, Gone, Country, solo exhibition of embroidery artwork/ writing/ storytelling, Slate Arts + Performance Gallery, Chicago, September 2018