Our contributors have included superstars such as James Broughton, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Edouard Roditi, and Ted Berrigan, all of whom have now gone supernova, but are currently serving on our Inner Governing Board. Living greats, such as Anselm Hollo, Mike Topp, Kirby Olson, Mauricio Montiel, Teresa Bergen and Robin Becker, are frequent contributors. On the other hand, we love new writers. Be advised, however, that the Corpse may start up its historic Body Bag again at any moment.

Regarding rights: The Corpse frowns upon multiple submissions; it is therefore expected that the piece has never been published before. If an acceptance letter is sent to the author, then he or she agrees to our terms, which are: the Corpse gets exclusive first-time on-line/electronic rights. After we publish, all rights, both cyber, print, audio, or any other media, belong to the author. If the work/s should be published in the future, we ask only for a credit line that reads: "First published in Exquisite Corpse #__."

1. Text Attachments:

For your submission to be considered, it must be sent digitally either in the body of your email or as an attachment with extension .rtf (Rich Text Format). Almost all word processing programs on Mac and PC include the option to "save as" Rich Text Format. This format will preserve your formatting, and guarantees that the file will be compatible with all of our computers. See instructions below for directions on how to create .rtf files in MS Word.

In the case of more than one submission, please include all of your submissions within one attached document or one email. Name your document after your last name or the last name of your pen name. Do not name your document "Exquisite Corpse" or "Corpse."

In the case of complex formatting, image embedding, layering, and other visual effects, please attach a .pdf version of your submission along with the .rtf file to ensure that the exact layout is preserved. Before you export your .pdf, convert the main text of your artwork to 10pt. Georgia.

Important: Some common word processors justify lines to the effect that users are often moved to separate sentences with more than one space. Before you send us your work, make absolutely sure that your sentences are separated by only one space.

Note: We cannot read Wordstar or Word Perfect documents (.wpd). These programs offer the option to "save as" .rtf

Note: You need not send an attachment if you are just sending a quick e-mail or comment in the heat of passion!

Note to poets: If you wish to make use of long single lines, please browse our site for an idea about the longest line our presentation will allow.

1. a. How to save your document as Rich Text Format from MS Word (It is a similar process in Worperfect) :

a. Open your document.
b. Open the "file" menu.
c. Choose "save as," not "save," and also make sure not to use the save icon, which looks like a floppy disk.
d. A dialog box will open--at the very bottom there is a box that says "Save as type:" on the left side.
e. Next to this box is a little button with a triangle pointing down. Click on it, and a drop-down menu will appear.
f. Scroll down in the drop down menu until you find Rich Text Format, and then choose it.
g. Name your document after your last name or the last name of your pen name.
h. Now click save as you normally would in the dialog box.\

Note: Older Windows sometimes do not fully convert in translation. If you receive a message from us that begins, "Howdy! Your message did not compute..." then try saving it in MS Word (.doc). If you receive the message again, locate a computer nerd for assistance. If a computer nerd is not available, paste your text directly into the e-mail as a last resort.

1. b. How to send attachments in Windows and Macintosh:

a. Compose and save your document. Did you make sure that all of your contact information is in the document? If not, please add it, and save again. If so, continue.
b. Address an e-mail to us ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
c. In your e-mail program, click the file attachment button on the toolbar. Almost universally, the file attachment button includes a picture of a paperclip. If you do not have a button, look in the menus for a command like "Attach File," and choose it.
d. A dialog box will open. Browse to the directory in which your document is saved, and double click quickly on your document's icon. Your document should now be attached to your e-mail.
e. Click "Send."

Note: We often experience translation problems when works composed on Apple and Mac are sent to us. If you receive a message from us that begins, "Howdy! Your message did not compute..." then try saving it in Word (.doc) if you have that option. If you receive the message again, locate a computer nerd for assistance. If a computer nerd is not available, paste your text directly into the e-mail as a last resort.

2. Contact Information:

All submissions must have all of your contact information listed within the attachment as well as on the letter it is attached to. If your contact information is not in the attachment, we will not know who wrote the piece.

3. Footnotes, Annotations, End Notes and the Like:

Using footnotes does not work for us; they do not always arrive as the writer intended them, and superscripting causes awkward spacings between lines when work is placed on html templates. Therefore, please convert all footnotes into End Notes by simply putting parentheses around the number which follows whatever you are noting. Then, at the end of your piece, write "End Notes" and list your notes. For an example of the way we like our End Notes, go to http://corpse.org/archives/issue_8/foreign_desk/woods.htm and take a look.

4. Dashes, Em dashes, Hyphens:

Ideally, your submission should make proper use and differentiate between the em dash, en dash, and hyphen. Do not put spaces before or after an em dash. Always put spaces before after an en dash unless used as a long hyphen. If you have used the double dash (--) in your work, we will assume that you meant to use the em dash (or long dash) and convert accordingly. since these characters are often replaced by hyphens when they go through computer translations, thus causing occasional editorial confusion and misprints.

5. Page Limit:

All submissions must contain no more than 15 double-spaced pages for prose. Poetry, however, can be single-spaced, but should not surpass 10 pages per submission. We will occasionally make exceptions for essays of greater length.

6. Acceptance:

If we wish to publish your submission, we will send you an acceptance letter with which you may request links to your e-mail address (or website/s) if you so choose. We can also make direct links to Amazon.com if you have publications that they carry (we will need ISBN #s for this). It usually takes us a few weeks to read submissions after they arrive. Sometimes it takes longer, if we are busy putting an issue together or if it is the summer and the editors are volunteering their time rather than getting paid. If we do not accept your work, this is not always an indication that we are not interested. Sometimes, we fill up sections (especially poetry) early, and do not have the space to publish until the next issue. Regardless, please do not write to the editors asking what your status is. Also, after accepting work, we cannot incorporate any changes by the author. When a contributor answers the author information questionnaire attached to the acceptance letter, this is an informal agreement between the contributor and the Corpse granting the Corpse the right to proofread the contributor's work and make any editorial corrections we see fit--which are always minor, if we make any at all. Thus, a work should be in its final final stage upon being submitted to the Corpse.

7. Images:

Art submissions should be sent in JPEG (preferably at 80% quality or higher), compressed TIFF, or lossless GIF format (recommended for greyscale images and line art). If you have sent us a low-resolution preview, we may and probably will request a higher resolution copy should we decide to use your piece.

8. Music/Sound:

Send CDs through the mail (below).

9. After Publication Changes:

If you notice a mistake in anything published by the Corpse--in somebody else's work or your own--we do have the luxury of making these corrections. Just drop a line to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

10. Snail Mail:

We do not accept papyrus-based submissions anymore. However, if you would like us to review a book, CD, chapbook, journal, video, or something else (some works are cited in the Cyber Bag), send to:

Editors
Exquisite Corpse
PO Box 25051
Baton Rouge, LA 70894

Send submissions to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it