Exposition Review is an independent, multi-genre literary journal that publishes narratives by new, emerging, and established writers in the genres of fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, poetry, scripts for stage & screen, experimental narratives, visual art, film, and comics (see guidelines below).

Wondering what to submit to us? We like to be surprised; we like writing that is razor-sharp, immediately transporting us with a strong voice and sense of place. We like work that’s thoughtful and cathartic, work that embraces conflict and isn’t afraid to take risks. We love pieces that blur the boundaries of genre. To get a better idea of what we look for in submissions, please read our previous issues. You can also follow the Expo blog to get news about latest submission and contest openings.

ANNUAL ISSUE SUBMISSIONS: Oct 1 - Dec 15, 2026

Every issue has a theme from which writers and artists can draw inspiration. We encourage those who submit to think outside the box; we look for stories that fit the theme yet make us think about it in different ways; we want work that satisfies and challenges traditional forms of storytelling.

The theme for our eleventh annual issue is "Trip."

Read more about how to submit below!

Vol. XII: Trip

This issue begins in motion, or maybe mid-stumble.

Trip (n.): A journey, an excursion, a departure from the familiar.

Trip (v.): To stumble, to falter; to set off a mechanism that was only ever waiting.

Trip explores both the propulsion and rupture, the going and the going-wrong. You could be tripping happily down a path when something rises up out of nowhere when a root, a memory, a wire strung low in the dark takes you out of the equation entirely, or catapults you into a completely different experience than whatever you had planned.

What if tripping is only what happens when the ground insists on your attention?

To write into Trip is to explore:

• The itinerary and the interruption: the planned journey, and the instant it goes sideways.
• The altered state: chemical, spiritual, or just the vertigo of finding yourself somewhere unexpected or new.
• The mechanism orchestrated to trip on purpose: the alarm, the breaker, a trip wire, and what it means to be what sets it off.
• The stumble that transformed the story: the fall that changed everything that followed.

For the twelfth annual issue of Exposition Review, we invite work that travels in every sense of the word: road trips and guilt trips, ego trips and acid trips, the trip wire and the trip switch, the practiced trip of a dancer’s foot and the graceless trip of a shoelace. Good trips, bad trips, and plain old trips are all welcome.  

This theme is a point of departure, rather than a destination. It invites us to reflect on how we set out, the interruptions that occur, and how far off course we’re willing to travel.  

Let Trip vault you forward, send you sprawling. Let this word do what it does best: pull your footing out from under you – and into something new.

Submissions for Vol. XII will be open Oct 1 – December 15, 2026.

All work is read and given fair consideration by our editorial staff. Guidelines for individual genres are as follows:

• Fiction. Short stories and stand-alone novel excerpts up to 5,000 words.
• Flash Fiction. Up to three pieces of flash or microfiction. Each piece should be no more than 1,000 words; there is no minimum word count. The shorter, the better!
• Nonfiction. Memoir, personal essays, and creative nonfiction up to 5,000 words.
• Poetry. Up to three poems of any form and in traditional or experimental styles. Translations are accepted as well.
• Stage & Screen. One-act plays, scenes, or short film and screenplay excerpts up to 15 pages. Please format according to the standard unpublished playwriting or screenwriting format.
• Experimental Narratives. We love narratives in all forms. Whether it’s digital poetics, a video, or a genre-bending transmedia piece, if it tells a good story, creates compelling characters, and/or tickles our literary senses, we want it. Consider the limits of other categories and our online platform for length guidelines.
• Visual Art. Up to five pieces of art and/or photography per submission. If submitting more than one piece of art, please compile into one file (PDF or otherwise). Please include a brief artist’s statement or statement about the work (1–3 paragraphs), and include appropriate credit lines for all pieces (Artist Name, Title of Work, Year. Medium, Dimensions.)
• Comics. Comics should be self-contained, up to three pages per piece, with no more than three pieces per submission.
• Film. Short films in live-action narrative, documentary, or animation up to 15 minutes in length. Please include a brief summary and credits list in the cover letter of your submission.

Author receives $50.00 USD for accepted work.  All submissions received by October 31 will receive guaranteed feedback from editors.

FLASH 405 WRITING CONTESTS:

Our Flash 405 competitions accept short from work in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and stage & screen. Contests are judged by members of Expo's editorial team as well as guest judges. Each contest has a theme and winners are awarded cash prizes and online publication. For more information visit the Flash 405 page on our website.