Amy Ellis Nutt

Amy Ellis Nutt uses long-form reporting to connect science, family experience, and social change. Becoming Nicole follows Nicole Maines, her twin Jonas, and their parents as the family learns to understand and support Nicole's gender identity. Nutt spent nearly four years reporting the story, placing the Maines family's experiences alongside developing research, education questions, and a legal dispute over equal treatment at school. Random House published the biography in 2015, and the American Library Association recognized it as a Stonewall Honor Book in nonfiction. Nutt's reporting background is reflected in the combination of close observation and explanation: she earned a 2011 Pulitzer in Feature Writing and later taught journalism at Princeton. Rather than treating one person's life in isolation, the narrative shows how family relationships, institutions, and public understanding change around Nicole's insistence on being recognized as herself.