Mission Statement 

The lives of the sick unfold in stories. Ailment is a space where these stories can inhabit, breathe and be heard. 

Who We Are

Ailment is an online literary magazine dedicated to voicing the creative expressions of those impacted by mental and physical chronic illness.

General Submission Guidelines

There is NO submission or reading fee. All submissions are blind, until a piece(s) is accepted or declined for contribution.

Contributors retain copyright. However, upon publication, contributors give Ailment permission to promote and distribute their work, including the contributor’s name, pseudonym and biography, accordingly. We ask for first electronic rights (meaning no one else has published the work before online) and electronic archival rights (meaning we are allowed to keep your work online forever). Our rights are nonexclusive (meaning you can republish the work elsewhere later). If you do republish the work, we’d like to be mentioned as the first publisher.

Ailment will not make any editorial or formatting changes without the contributor's approval. Contributors retain the right to review the final draft of their work prior to publication.

Contributors will not be compensated at this time. Ailment is a non-profit publication donating any/all proceeds to organizations that further the betterment of those of us who suffer from chronic illness. As a person with a chronic illness I am welcoming of places to express my experiences and share my story and want to extend the same to others. There may be opportunities to pay contributors in the future, seeing as this is our inaugural issue the focus is on extending a creative space for contributors' voices, as well as elevating the conversation around the lives of those who are affected by chronic illness.

Each issue of Ailment will focus on responses to a single creative prompt. The creative prompt will be included in the “call for submissions” communication. The submission period will be three months. We accept simultaneous submissions, however, please inform us immediately if your piece is selected by another publication, as we would like to give all submitters equal opportunity to be considered.  

Once the submission period is closed, then there will be a reading period of 6 weeks, during which contributions will be selected. If your piece is selected, you will be contacted via email to connect with the Editor-in-Chief, Erin Catherine Batog, to discuss your piece in further detail. You will also be sent instructions on recording an audio reading or description of your piece to be included in the publication. 

Submissions from patients (those with chronic mental and physical illness), caretakers, family and friends affected by a loved-one’s illness and practitioners will be considered. Responses to the creative prompt may be submitted in non-fiction, essay, poetry, photography, drawing or painting form. Details on accepted word-length, formatting and confidentiality are included in the submission form(s).

We take up to 3 (three) submissions per submitter per reading period. This means that an submitter could submit pieces for three different categories and be published in one or more of those categories. For example, a submitter may submit 1 (one) nonfiction piece, 3 (three) poems and 2 (two) drawings. If at least 3 (three) of the pieces are accepted for publication, they will be published as a collection.

Ailment will not make any editorial or formatting changes without the contributor's approval. Contributors retain the right to review the final draft of their work prior to publication.

Please visit our website for additional details or submit via the provided forms for each creative category.