Marie Nicole M. Ulanday is a Filipino writer and communications professional currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Anthropology at the University of Toulouse in France, building on a Bachelor of Arts in Philippine Studies and a Sertipiko sa Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino (SMPF) from the University of the Philippines Diliman.
She began writing in high school at Paliparan II Integrated High School, where she won several essay and poetry writing contests. She also actively submitted short stories—under pseudonyms—to the Facebook literary page Sobrang Short Stories. Alongside these individual achievements, she also served as feature editor and later editor‑in‑chief of the school paper, earning awards in essay‑writing contests and school press conferences in features writing in Filipino. From 2019 to 2020, she wrote news for Kalasag, the official student publication of the UP College of Arts and Letters.
Her short stories and poetry have since received recognition from Promote And Publish Excellent Literature (PAPEL) and the University of the Philippines Institute of Creative Writing’s “Life UPdates” contests, where her short story “Headset” both won and later placed among the grand winners. Ulanday has shared her work in literary events, including reading her poem “Sa Kabila ng Bulaklaking Kumot” at the 2019 UP ICW event Mundong Walang Hanggahan: A Poetry Reading for A World Without Walls, upon the invitation of writer Eugene Y. Evasco. She has likewise held communications roles with France Volontaires–Philippines, the Virlanie Foundation, and The Puzzle Asia, producing stories, reports, and digital campaigns; fluent in English, Tagalog, and French, she is especially interested in migrant righits, transnational lives, and the everyday narratives of Filipino communities at home and abroad.