Quiet Storm is a literary magazine dedicated to publishing works about illness in a variety of forms, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art.
Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Quiet Storm is a new literary voice in the city — they launched on May 11 and officially opened for submissions June 1. They’re currently accepting high quality fiction, nonfiction, and poetry submissions. Fiction and nonfiction should be under 3,000 words. Poetry should be under 3 pages. Quiet Storm also accepts hybrid works, experimental styles, and art submissions.
In addition to running the magazine and website, Quiet Storm is also active on Facebook and Twitter!
Why’d you start Quiet Storm?
Quiet Storm was launched to fill what we think is a void in the literary world. Everyone’s experienced illness in some way, whether they’ve personally struggled or watched a love one struggle. However, we’ve come across few submission calls and works dedicated to illness. Several of our staff members–including our Founding Editor–are open about their own battles with illness, and we wanted to give other writers a home.
Practically, how are you defining “writing about illness”?
We define illness as any physical or mental experience afflicting the body. Maybe heart disease is something you struggle with, or perhaps the seasonal flu immediately pops to mind. Maybe you have a poem about depression wedged into your notebook pages. Maybe you’re creating an art piece inspired by a loved one’s battle with cancer. Maybe you’re penning a nonfiction piece on PTSD. We’re open to whatever definition of “illness” writers attach to their own works.
On your website, you call Quiet Storm a “passion project”. Can you tell us a little bit about the passion behind the project?
In light of recent events, it seems particularly important to bring illness from its shamed hiding space out into the open. The stigmatization of physical and mental illness is overwhelming. We want to fight the silent nature of suffering by printing words about it. We want to fight stigmatization by publishing the pain, the sadness, the anger, the humor, and all the emotions people are expected to keep closeted as they cope.
Do you have to be a writer to work with Quiet Storm?
No! While we do focus heavily on our magazine, we also publish a variety of other work on our site. Currently, we do Q&As with professionals in health fields, book reviews on works related to illness, and resources for the public. We encourage readers to get in touch with us online if they have ideas or pitches they’d like to make a reality.
What are some of Quiet Storm‘s favorite works about illness?
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
“On Being Ill” by Virginia Woolf
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Dream Songs by John Berryman
Dark Blonde by Belle Waring
Live or Die by Anne Sexton
Because We are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought by Lily Bailey
Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So by Mark Vonnegut
The Best of Us by Joyce Maynard
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
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