Bailey Swilley is a writer, comedian and storyteller from Memphis, Tennessee.

A Moth StorySLAM winner and a (twice) New York Times Recommended Pick (receipts, proof, timeline here and here), Bailey’s stories have been featured on Kevin Allison’s hit storytelling show RISK!, Story Collider, Love Hurts and more. Since 2021, she’s hosted the monthly storytelling show We ❤️ a Theme at Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn.

In 2025, she brought her show, GIMME A SIGN!, to the Unicyle Festival in Philadelphia where it won Audience Choice, as well as the Gotham Storytelling Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe to rave reviews.

In 2026, she is performing a new show, A BABY FOR ME? NO THANK YOU, PLEASE!, at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on March 23 and the Rat as part of the New York Fringe Festival on April 3, 6, 14 and 16.

She is also a screenwriter, and in 2020, her spec script for Better Things was named a semifinalist in the Austin Film Festival. Bailey’s comedy and writing focuses on family, grief, and growing up, with an emphasis on characters who have no choice other than to be true to themselves.

Interested in her writing? Check out The Bailey Mail. Want to catch a show? Peep the calendar.