Chronically Published (aka authors with chronic illness)

Writing is difficult enough without adding chronic illness into the mix. With today’s “rapid release” publishing plans, which focus on writing fast and publishing even faster, it’s enough to wear down a healthy author. When you have to juggle a dynamic illness where you never know from day to day how you’ll be feeling (or even moment to moment), it makes publishing that much more difficult. This anthology celebrates chronically ill authors, commiserates with them, and offers support, hope, and maybe even a few ideas.

We’re looking for a wide range of essays  which encompass the entire ranges of chronic illnesses. We’re also hoping for diverse voices including Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, Asian, and other races and ethnicity not mentioned, LGBTQIA+ voices, neurodivergent voices, and authors who write all genres.

Some questions to contemplate include:

• How does your chronic illness affect creativity?
• What steps do you need to take to plan energy for writing, editing, and publishing?
• Do you pursue a rapid release plan, and if so how does your chronic illness affect that?
• Does your diagnosis(es) make its/their way into your writing?
• Do you have advice for authors facing chronic illness?
• Do you feel the writing & publishing community respects authors with chronic illness?

Essays need to be written by individuals who have lived experience with chronic illness and/or disability.

To find out specific details about essay preferences, including length, submission email, and format, please read our general essay guidelines here or check out our current submission calls page.

If you’re concerned about missing the anthology due date, please sign up for our author news newsletter. You can also subscribe to our calendar or add an individual “event” (deadline) to your personal calendar. We’ll be sending periodic reminders. Also, as a general rule it’s better to send in your essay sooner, rather than later. Write when the inspiration hits. No need to “hold” your essay until closer to the due date. If we get more than we can use for one volume, we’ll happily publish more!