Leslie Nichols uses a variety of found and original text to create images. She is well known for her works created on manual typewriters which are featured in Typewriter Art: A Modern Anthology by Barrie Tullett published by Laurence King in 2014 and The Art of Typewriting by Ruth Sackner and Marvin Sackner published by Thames and Hudson in 2015.

Nichols has displayed works in over one hundred exhibitions at venues including the Huntsville Museum of Art, the Carnegie Center for Visual and Performing Arts, and the Evansville Museum. Her work is in the following selected public collections: the Sackner Archive of Visual Poetry, H&R Block’s world headquarters, and Liquitex.

Nichols was awarded a 2015 NEA Studio Residency Grant from Women’s Studio Workshop. This grant supported the creation of a new body of work in WSW’s letterpress studio. Additional granting organizations include the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, the American Association of University Women, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. Her residencies include Zion National Park, Vermont Studio Center, Hopscotch House, Women's Studio Workshop, and Can Serrat.

Leslie earned a BFA in painting from Fontbonne University under the guidance of Tim Liddy and Victor Wang. She has an MA from Western Kentucky University focusing in gender and women's studies. She currently maintains her studio in Bowling Green, Kentucky where she lives with her partner artist Michael Nichols.