(1) What is Word! ? What is its purpose?

Word! is an arts-oriented online magazine written by and for young people. We aim to both entertain people and provoke a little thought. Most of all, we try to provide a niche for young writers and like-minded young people to share their ideas and showcase their writing.

(2) Why online and not in print?

Because printing is expensive, a huge hassle and limits the number of readers. We wanted to keep Word! free and accessible to the largest audience possible. We might expand into print one day, but for now, we keep to the Web.

3) Why did you start Word! ?

The Editor: Because I love writing. Because I know there are a lot of people like that who do as well. Because there are almost no opportunities for teens to publish their writing, apart from their school newspapers or something, and how many of those would publish the kind of writing we feature in Word! ? And because I had an abundance of free time the summer of 2008. That’s about it.

(4) What’s behind the name?

Perhaps an explanation of it, with some help from our good friend, urbandictionary.com is in order.

word. noun. /werd/

1.      A versatile declaration, with its roots in youth culture.

2.      “Word” has no single meaning, but is used to convey a casual sense of affirmation, acknowledgement, agreement, or to indicate that something has impressed you favorably.

3.      “Word” is the shortened form of the phrase: “my word is my bond” which was originated by inmates in U.S. prisons. The longer phrase was shortened to “word is bond” before becoming “word,” which is most commonly used. It basically means “truth.” Or “to speak the truth.”

-Yo, that new webzine that everyone’s talking about is pretty sweet.

-Word.

-Yeah. That one.

Honest, intelligent, high-quality writing and creative expression by young people. That’s  what we’re about, hence our name.

(5) What kind of material do you publish? Can I just send in anything I’ve written previously or do you have assignments?

As you may have noticed, Word! is unlike most webzines in that we don’t have a very specific, narrow focus. One of our writers jokingly stated that it’s like “Playboy, just without the porn.” But to answer your question, Word! is not a free-for-all. Humor, philosophy, opinion, music, literature and general arts-themed material geared somewhat to a younger crowd are mostly what we publish. As for style, as you can see, we have a wide variety of styles present in this issue, ranging from serious to quirky, journalistic to poetic Before you send anything in, contact us and talk about what you’re sending. We’ll let you know if we’re interested and give you guidelines for our articles.. If you’d like to write but don’t really know what to write about, we do give out assignments each issue. And incidentally, if you’d like to contribute but don’t really feel that writing is up your street, you can send in comics, or artwork, or photography. Or work with us in a more editorial capacity, or help us with advertising or something.

(6) Do you make a profit? More specifically, will I get paid for my work?

To both: we wish. At least for now, no. P.S. We definitely would be interested in sponsors and advertising.

(7) How do I contact Word! ?

We thought you’d never ask. Email word.webzine@gmail.com. We also have a Facebook group, if you’re interested. Cheers!

©2008. All rights reserved.