Please read below for FLARE‘s submission guidelines. Our submissions may open for a month, a week, a few days, etc. because as many people who are disabled or chronically ill know, flareups can be unpredictable and sudden and short or sudden and long. Submissions are and will always be FREE.
We are CLOSED to ALL submissions currently. The medication mini themed issue releases on April 18th!
Your submissions should relate to chronic illness, disabilities, and mental health in some way, EXCEPT art, as that could be difficult to do. However, the artists themselves should be disabled in some way.
**Please only submit in ONE category of writing per submission period. However, you can submit art if you’ve also submitted in a writing category.
What to Submit
If accepted, your piece will be published in an online issue on the site only. PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES. Want feedback on your submission, regardless if it’s accepted or not? Scroll to the bottom to check out those guidelines!
Poetry
- Up to 3 poems in one Word document–each poem should be its own page
- Please avoid using lots of special formatting like giant spaces and indents for poetry. WordPress doesn’t tend to “like” fancy formatting.
- Prose poetry is allowed.
- Open to formal, free verse, short poems, etc.
- Please include any content/trigger warnings ahead of each piece in the document.
Microfiction (New! Official Category – in 2026!)
- Up to 3 pieces of 400 words or fewer in a Microsoft Word document (preferred), but PDF and Google docs are okay too.
- We are open to all literary and genre fiction, except erotica.
- Should be double-spaced (this is easier to read for our EIC)
- Please include any content/trigger warnings ahead of each piece in the document.
Flash Fiction
- 1 flash fiction piece up to 1000 words in a Microsoft Word document (preferable), but PDF and Google docs are okay too.
- We are open to all literary and genre fiction, except erotica.
- Should be double-spaced (this is easier to read for our EIC)
- Please include any content/trigger warnings ahead of the piece in the document.
Short Stories (New in 2026!)
- 1 short story up to 2500 words in a Microsoft Word document (preferable), but PDF and Google docs are okay too.
- We are open to all literary and genre fiction, except erotica.
- Should be double-spaced (this is easier to read for our EIC)
- Please include any content/trigger warnings ahead of the piece in the document.
Creative Nonfiction
- 1 creative nonfiction piece up to 2000 words (a change from 2025 where the word limit was 1500 words!) in a Microsoft Word document (preferable), but PDF and Google docs are okay too.
- Should be double-spaced (this is easier to read for our EIC)
- Please include any content/trigger warnings ahead of the piece in the document.
Hybrid/Experimental
- Up to 3 hybrid/experimental pieces up to 1000 words in a Microsoft Word document
- Single-spaced is okay here.
- Please include any content/trigger warnings ahead of each piece in the document.
Art/Photography
- 1-3 art pieces and/or photographs (format in JPEG)
- REMINDER: art does NOT have to relate to chronic illnesses, disabilities, and mental health. We just ask that the CREATOR is disabled on some level.
- You’re welcome to include an artist statement about your piece, but it’s optional.
- With your art submission, please include the art technique you used to create your artwork.
General Guidelines That All Submissions Should Have
- Please put the GENRE of your piece in the subject line of your email.
- Please no overly graphic imagery and add a content warning if applicable.
- To accompany your piece in the body of your email if your work is accepted, please add:
- a short, third-person bio with your pronouns
- your social media handles (and which type of social media your handle belongs to)/website
- pen name (if applicable)
- Previously published is okay, but please let us know where it was published first so that we can give credit where it’s due.
- Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please withdraw if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- Upon acceptance, we ask for First North American Serial Rights or Second North American Serial Rights (if your work was previously published). All rights revert back to the author upon publication.
- If FLARE accepts your work, EIC Kelly may lightly edit your piece for grammatical errors. This does NOT apply to poetry as much, since poetry can often break certain rules. This is mostly to check for “the the” and the like across the board. If you would like to see your edits before publication, please email us to let us know.
Response Times
- We understand how nerve-wracking it can be to send in a submission. That’s why FLARE strives to respond quickly, usually, within 24 hours of submitting.
- **Occasionally, responses could be on the longer side as the EIC is chronically ill herself, but she’ll announce on social media and here.
- EIC Kelly hopes to publish an issue every season, with special issues sometimes too.
- Please only submit when submissions are open. If they’re closed, your work will not be read, and it will result in an automatic rejection.
Payment
- Unfortunately, since FLARE Magazine is only a year old, we are unable to regularly pay contributors, but we will promote your work on our Bluesky (800+ followers), Instagram (2,300+ followers), and Twitter (300+ followers) accounts, and we nominate for literary awards, like Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, the Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction, Best American Essays, and the Genrepunk Awards through Genrepunk Magazine!
- We also have a GoFundMe page to help pay contributors in the future!
What FLARE Won’t Accept
- No homophobic, transphobic, ableism, racism, hateful language, and/or prejudice to any group of people will be tolerated.
- **If you’re an author who’s known for harassing other literary magazines in any capacity, we will not publish your work.
- No AI-generated texts/art or plagiarism allowed.
- Being rude to the editor. This is a one-woman show. Currently, there are no other readers or editors. I am chronically ill myself. Arguing or getting angry about receiving a rejection will not make me want to publish you now or in the future. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Please be professional!
Special Note
- If it comes to our attention that an author or artist has been engaging in inappropriate and unacceptable behavior, we will not take submissions from that creator, and if we discover we’ve published an author or artist who’s done something unacceptable, we will remove the writing or art from our journal, any social media promotion, and unfollow the author or artist.
- **We reserve the right to remove any art or written work if it’s no longer in alignment with our values (or principles).
Nominations
- FLARE nominates for Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, Genrepunk Awards, Best American Essays, Best Microfiction, and the Pushcart Prize.
Want Feedback?
Put “FEEDBACK” in the subject line of your submission, and prior to sending your submission, donate $10 to our 2025 GoFundMe (to increase our monetary prize for our first contest) or the 2026 GoFundMe, which will be used for more contests in the future! Feedback could take up to 3 days.
If you’re feeling particularly generous, EIC Kelly Esparza has a tip jar via Ko-Fi. As a volunteer, she does not get paid for any of the work on this magazine, and while it is a passion project, any donations are welcome, especially if you’re enjoying what FLARE does and want EIC Kelly to grow the magazine.
And if you’re feeling like you want to read more on chronic illnesses, EIC Kelly has a poetry chapbook about her experiences living with lupus! It’s out now with Bottlecap Press! Check it out here and here! If you’re interested in reviewing her book, please fill out the contact form at kellyesparza.com.
