Listen to this post:

I found this on a listserv, and it sounds extremely interesting! It’s a call for stories for a journal called Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics.

Below are some of the basics. For this and more info, visit the journal’s website: NIBJournal.org/submit/calls/social-media/

Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics will publish a collection of personal stories from people who have shared information about their health on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, personal blogs, or in the chatrooms of patient communities. We want true, personal stories in a form that is interesting and easy to read. In writing your story, please consider these questions:

• What was your initial reason for sharing your story publicly? Was your goal fulfilled?
• Did you interact with people who learned about your experiences? What were these communications like?
• What was the quality of medical information or emotional support you gained from this public sharing of your story?
• Did you ever regret making your personal journey open to the public? Why or why not?
• Did you find the process of sharing your story to be empowering? Freeing? Scary?
• Do you feel there should be rules for how other people use health information that is shared online? Does it matter if the platform is public or private?
• Do you have suggestions for people interested in sharing their health experiences on social media?

You do not need to address each of these questions—write about the issues that you think are most important to share. If you are not a writer, tell your story in your own words and our editorial staff will help you.

If you are interested in submitting a story, we ask you first to submit a 300-word proposal—a short description of the story you want to tell. Inquiries or proposals should be sent to the editorial office via email: NarrativeBioethics@gmail.com. We will give preference to proposals received by August 25, 2025. If your story is invited, we will ask you to submit it within 6 weeks of the invitation. Final stories are 4 – 10 double-spaced pages or 800 – 2000 words.

For more information about the journal, Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics, the guidelines for authors, and privacy policies, visit their guidelines webpage.

To see a finished symposium, please visit Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics’ page on Project MUSE and click on the unlocked, open-access issue.

Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press and is available in print and electronically to over 1,200 institutional subscribers via Project MUSE.

You don’t have to be a writer or an academic to submit a proposal and write a story. I really encourage anyone who’s interested and has shared their personal health story on social media to consider proposing.