Submit to Flare, the anthology on chronic illness, told in flash narratives

mage by Lucas Silva Pinheiro Santos and depicts a figure reflected in water texturized by rock. The figure is sharply in shadow with an arm raised overhead. There appear a swath of orange and red color over the figure.

image by Lucas Silva Pinheiro Santos

Flare

April Bradley

ubmissions up until Novemeber 30th 2022

Ad Hoc Fiction

If you wish to donate,

Interview

The project to edit an anthology on chronic illness has, I believe, been dear to your heart for a long time. Can you tell us more about it and how your thinking evolved?

Thanks so much for asking, Jude. On the last day of AWP last year, in Philadelphia, I landed on the idea and wrote most of the pitch in the hotel room. I spoke with several friends about their writing journeys and noticed how catastrophic illness or a significant event led them to creative and expressive writing—it altered or expanded their process and method. For example, a poet turned prose writer, or in my case, a technical writer turned creative writer, but this description sounds trivial. When these writers shared their stories with me, echoing aspects of mine, the events they described were profound and enduring; their identities as writers altered unexpectedly. During the pandemic, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and an audio-processing disorder, and although I had been managing complex health issues, I regarded them—and they were treated—disparately. A whole-systems approach led me to chronic illness. What connected the topic with flash was a workshop I developed to share with SmokeLong Quarterly’s Summer Workshop. There’s a rich breadth of work on illness and disability in flash. It’s innovative and deeply compelling. It also jibes with my experience and interests in bioethics, and narrative medicine.

How did you arrive at the title, ‘Flare’?

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/mary_oliver/poems/15811

There is a wide brief for submissions you will consider for the anthology. On your anthology website, you say:

“This anthology has broad appeal and includes those who manage chronic illness, caregivers of those who live with chronic illness, writers and readers of fiction and creative nonfiction, creative writing programs, instructors and professors of creative writing and narrative medicine, physicians, healthcare and mental healthcare professionals, lawmakers and legal professionals, nonprofits, and policymakers.”

You have already had a substantial number of submissions for the anthology. Are there any areas you think are not covered yet and where you would like to see more submissions?

This is a topic that leans so easily into creative nonfiction. Personal narratives about chronic illness feel natural, and I love reading them. I hope writers feel comfortable submitting more blended genre and experimental work.

You are looking for ‘flash fiction narratives’ about chronic illness. Can you summarise what you mean by that, e.g., the styles of writing you are looking for and a little more about the submission guidelines?

Narrative includes flash fiction, creative nonfiction, hybrid, and experimental work. Rather than limit, I wanted to use narrative to expand subgenres. I want the work to drive the structure of the anthology. If it’s 750 words or less, I’d love to read it.