April Johnson Stearns
Founder, Editor-in-Chief, Wildfire Journal and Writing Community
Highlights
- Speaker, 2026 Conference on Metastatic Breast Cancer
- Founder of an independent literary and storytelling platform serving people diagnosed with breast cancer at younger ages
- Advocate and facilitator using expressive writing to support connection, visibility, and care within the metastatic breast cancer community
April Johnson Stearns is the founder and editor-in-chief of Wildfire Journal & Writing Community, an independent literary and storytelling platform serving people diagnosed with breast cancer at younger ages. Diagnosed with stage III breast cancer at age 35, April’s work over the past decade has been deeply rooted in advocacy for those living with metastatic disease.
Since launching Wildfire in 2016, April has published more than 50 issues of the journal and guided hundreds of writers through expressive writing and memoir workshops. Through this work, she has helped create space for the complex, ongoing realities of stage IV breast cancer to be seen, named, and honored.
Her work is grounded in the belief that storytelling is not only a form of self-expression but a powerful tool for connection, visibility, and collective care within the metastatic breast cancer community.