Help Me Get to the Michener Center for Writers!

I got into one of the tops writing programs in the world! But I need your help to get there!

Campaign Goal: $10,000

Deadline: June 15th, 2025

Why This Matters?

I’m beyond honored to have been accepted as a Michener Fellow at the Michener Center for Writers at UT Austin—one of the most prestigious writing programs in the world. With an acceptance rate below 1%, it has nurtured Pulitzer Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows, and bestselling authors. This fully-funded fellowship is a dream come true and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to dedicate myself for 3 years to deepen my craft and talent for storytelling.

This is an incredible platform to grow as a writer and to bring stories that center queer migrants to the front of the stage. Growing up as a queer migrant with a single mother in a working-class community, programs like these always seemed out of my reach. It took moving to Berlin and deepening my understanding of myself and my artistic voice to believe I could even call myself a writer.

As a trans/non-binary writer of color, I am deeply committed to telling stories that reflect our realities and histories—stories that center queer and migrant narratives and push the boundaries of how we see the world. This is not just a fellowship for me—it’s a chance to contribute to more inclusive and transformative storytelling.

But there’s a catch: With the cuts to artistic funding in Europe and my freelance career in international development erased with the closing of USAID, I’ve been left without a steady source of income for over a year. Moving to Austin is expensive. Between travel, deposits, rent, and getting set up in a new city, the costs add up quickly and I need your help to make this transition possible. The program covers my tuition and living expenses for three years! So I just need your help getting there!

Who Am I?

Hi, my name is Sailesh, and I am a poet, filmmaker, and storyteller dedicated to amplifying the voices of queer and migrant communities. My journey has taken me from teaching English to migrant youth in the Bronx to working in international development, advocating for young people affected by forced migration. Along the way, I ran a school for refugee youth in NYC, which was featured in The New York Times, and later moved to Germany as a German Chancellor Fellow, where I discovered my love for performance and filmmaking.

During the pandemic, I shifted from poetry to film, creating DogFriend, a short film exploring race and queerness in Germany. It premiered at the British Film Institute, screened at Tribeca, and was nominated for the German Oscar in 2022. Today, it’s housed in the National German Museum for Film as a landmark in new German cinema. My work blends mythology and deeply personal narratives to reimagine storytelling beyond colonial frameworks. In addition to my artistic practice, I am a reiki practitioner, I facilitate equity and inclusion workshops for organizations like the Berlinale, and serve as a “mother” to The Dolls, a collective for trans-femme siblings here in Berlin.

What Your Support Covers?

✈️ Relocation Costs – Flights, shipping, and moving expenses from Berlin, Germany to Austin, TX. - $1,000

Housing & Deposits – Securing a stable place to live before the program starts. Housing in Austin is expensive, ranking as one of the highest in the country! - $4,500

Basic Setup – Supplies and essentials to start the program strong. - $2,000

Transition Funds (July/August) – Until my stipend kicks in, I need help covering groceries, transportation, and settling-in costs. - $2,500

Every donation, no matter the size, makes a huge impact! If you can’t donate, a share means the world to me! Over the next 6 weeks, I hope to raise enough funds to help me transition back to the States with ease and start a new chapter on my artistic journey!

Can’t Donate But Want to Support?

Follow me on Instagram @sailesh_n, and then give my GoFundMe post a share, like, and save! It will help it stay fresh in the algorithms!

Spread the Word!

Pick 3 people in your network to send this campaign to directly and encourage them to donate and share!