What began as an idea among Calgary high school students has become an acclaimed literary magazine read by people worldwide. 

A group of high school students founded the online magazine, Exclamation Mark Literary Journal, in February because they wanted to do exactly what the name suggests — publish pieces so raw and relatable that people couldn’t help but sit up and notice.

“There are many literary magazines in the world, but we often think they often publish beautiful writings…that are serene, peaceful, tranquil, reflective,” said Darren Yang, one of the founders.

“However, there isn’t too many magazines that publish the dark side of human emotion. For example, the ugly, the unconstrained, that part of the human experience, and we want to fill that gap.”

Yang, a 16-year-old Grade 12 student at Western Canada High School, is the editor-in-chief, managing a team of just under 10 adult editors, including teachers, post-secondary students, and poets based locally and internationally in the United States and India. 

A day on the job for him looks like sifting through nearly 300 submissions each month, assigning them for editing, and leading the final discussion to decide which pieces to keep and which to reject. 

With an average of 1,500 monthly readers, they’ve come a long way in less than a year, earning praise from the Toronto Review and a $5,000 grant as one of six winners of a contest by Chill Subs and the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses. 

Yang, who writes under the pseudonym Robert Hills, credited industry leaders’ support and guidance with their success and questioned whether they would be where they are today if audiences knew how old they were. 

Amplifying underacknowledged creatives a priority, says editor

Although creative writers often publish under a pen name to distance themselves from their stories, Yang said he and his colleagues did so for a similar reason, but in a slightly different context. 

“I want people to look at my work in the long term and not be interrupted by this preconceived idea of me,” he said. 

“If people knew that I am, for example, a high schooler, they wouldn’t take it so seriously.”

Yang said that, at the beginning, they thought they needed to look like a legitimate publication, not a fun passion project led by students, to become something of substance. He said that this has worked out for them so far. 

“Many people in the world use a pen name to write because they want to sort of suspend themselves from their writing,” said Yang. 

“It almost gives people the opportunity to express their ideas to the fullest, unconstrained by societal expectations, and I think it’s a very great thing to do.”

Another way they avoided limiting themselves to one box is by not being a youth magazine, or at least not explicitly. Yang explained that they often share work by adolescent writers because they know what it feels like to face hurdles when trying to get your name out there. 

“We tend to focus on publishing the young writers and first-time poets because we know how difficult it is to have a young person’s voice heard in the world,” he said. 

“That’s why for every issue, we tend to at least publish one or two first-timers for young writers, so they can have their voices.”

Expanding mediums amid growing audiences

This fall, the once online-only magazine ventured into print for the first time. The 76-page black-and-white special edition pamphlet centres on uplifting the voices of chronically ill writers, including Nisha Patel, an award-winning Edmonton-based poet. 

“As a disabled artist, there is a unique joy in working with other disabled artists who are gentle and encouraging in ways you are afraid to admit that you need,” she said, according to a quote on the magazine’s website.

“An emerging lit mag needs readers and writers, but it also needs cheerleaders, and a dedicated team always curates all three.”

Producing the book was no small feat, however, especially because the team had no experience with print products. Yang said they sought out advice from established Calgary publications, such as FreeFall Magazine.

He said that they and other editorial boards taught them the ins and outs of designing their product and recommended getting serial and publication numbers and choosing where to have it made. 

Since then, their pamphlet has been available at four different bookstores and franchises in Alberta, and they have sold over 200 copies. Yang said that this has shown them the demand for an outlet like this. 

“This really shows me that Calgary is a vibrant literary city,” he said. 

“Although the literary publication number is not as grand as Toronto’s, for example, there are still a lot of writers, and a lot of writers who want to get their work seen and published.”

With the grant money, he said they can start paying contributors, and it has opened doors for future collaborations they hope to pursue with journals worldwide. Yang said he’s proud of what they’ve achieved so far and the respect they’ve been shown. 

“Surprised, definitely, but also really, really feel really like, ‘oh my gosh, how did that happen!’” he said.

“I didn’t really specify my age in the editor section because I wanted people to look at my work and not a high school student’s work, and people started to call me ‘sir’ and ‘Mr. Hills’…which makes me feel really old, but also really happy.”