! is a literary magazine for words that jolt. We publish prose and poetry that makes readers stop, gasp, laugh, or — possibly — have a heart attack.
What ! Is Looking For:
Work that surprises, astonishes, delights, shocks, frightens, excites, or alarms us.
Basically — anything that makes us exclaim !
Guidelines
- Short stories, flash fiction, nonfiction, poetry
- Any genre — make us !
- Max 2,000 words for prose and Max 3 poems
- Format: PDF, double-spaced, Arial, no indent
- Please, no gore, erotica, discriminatory content, and overtly political messaging
- Starting May 2026: We will be accepting experimental writing. However, submissions must include a brief statement explaining the work’s concept. (here is an example of what we’re looking for)
- Simultaneous submissions are O.K, reprints too.
- Please indicate what type(s) of exclamation your piece contain (Make it fun if you like! Our favorites include: Is he allowed to say this?!!?; Royally confused!; $tartled, etc.)
- Please also provide a third person brief bio
After your work has been sent:
We usually respond in 1 day (please check your spam, or send us another submission with a correct email address, if we haven’t responded in a day or two). If accepted, we may request minor revisions before publication. Submissions accepted for our online issues are considered for our print issues.
Accepted contributors will be asked to provide an original piece of artwork or photography (or a creative commons image) to accompany their work.
We are currently unable to offer payment. However, feedback will be provided whether your submission is accepted or not.
*We ask for first serial rights, non-exclusive rights, print reproduction rights, and the right to archive your work on our website. Copyright always remains with the author.