Katie Piper

Katie is a mother, nurse, academic, and writer. She began writing during her maternity leave, finding her way into the craft through daily writing prompts shared on Twitter. Through this online community, Katie discovered flash fiction and found encouragement from fellow writers, leading to early success with her work.

Her writing has been recognised through a nomination for the Pushcart Prize and longlistings for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, the Bath Short Story Award, and, most recently, the 2025 Newcastle Short Story Award (Australia).

Katie’s Substack, Narrative Health Community, brings together her passions for storytelling and healthcare. It is a space dedicated to sharing and shaping health and bodily narratives. Through this work, Katie aims to inspire others and teach the craft of short story writing, particularly the ways in which lived experience can enrich and deepen our stories.

In September 2025, Katie began a chemo-immunotherapy regimen for Waldenström’s macroglobulinaemia, a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She hopes to achieve a deep response to treatment in early 2026. Her lived experience of cancer has strengthened her belief in the therapeutic power of narrative.

• For a Moment, Ellipsis Zine, 2020:
  https://www.ellipsiszine.com/for-a-moment-by-katie-piper/
• He Finds an Acorn Wearing a Bonnet, X-ray Literary Mag, 2020:
  https://xraylitmag.com/he-finds-an-acorn-wearing-a-bonnet-by-katie-piper/fiction/
• Who Would Miss a Zigzagging Schoolgirl? Reflex Press, 2020:
  https://www.reflexfiction.com/who-would-miss-a-zigzagging-schoolgirl-flash-fiction-by-katie-piper/
• The Baby with the Open Back, The Cabinet of Heed, 2020:
  https://cabinetofheed.com/2020/04/13/the-baby-with-the-open-back-katie-piper/
• Don’t Unravel the Yarn, Virtual Zine Mag, 2020:
  https://virtualzinemag.com/vff-1/f/don%E2%80%99t-unravel-the-yarn-by-katie-piper
• Contributing author, 100 Words of Solitude, Rare Swan Press, 2020:
  https://100wordsofsolitude.wordpress.com/100-words-of-solitude/
• When The Scarves Fell, Janus Literary, 2021:
  https://www.janusliterary.com/2021/05/31/katie-piper-when-the-scarves-fell/
• Swinging Out High, Reflex Fiction, 2020. (Reflex Press Anthology, 2021):
  https://www.reflexfiction.com/swinging-out-high-flash-fiction-by-katie-piper/
• The Silent Sacrifices of Mothers, Reflex Fiction, 2020. (Reflex Press Anthology, 2021):
  https://www.reflexfiction.com/the-silent-sacrifices-of-mothers-flash-fiction-by-katie-piper/
• Bath Man, National Flash Fiction Day (2021) (Anthology, 2021).
• Autopsy of a Mother, The Bridport Prize (Highly Commended), 2022 (Anthology, 2022).
• The Russian Front, Frazzled Lit, 2026: https://www.frazzledlit.com/p/the-russian-front