The BLR seeks  high-caliber, unpublished* work, broadly and creatively related to our  themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body.


Creative Nonfiction:
We are looking for essays  that reach beyond the standard ‘illness narrative’ to develop a topic  in an engaging and original manner. Incorporate anecdotes that feel  alive, and dazzle us with thoughtful and creative analysis that allows  these anecdotes to serve a larger purpose. Please, no academic  discourses or works with footnotes. Maximum 5,000 words.

We encourage you to read BLR before you submit.  Samples from each issue are available in our online archive.

We consider simultaneous submissions, but request that you inform us  immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

If you are a current subscriber, you may submit under the No-Fee Submissions for Current BLR Subscribers category. If you'd like to subscribe, please use the Subscribe  + Submit category.