Time is running short to send in your Pushcart nominations! Each year all small magazine and book press editors all over the world are invited to send up to six nominations for any combination of poetry, short stories, essays, memoirs or stand-alone excerpts from novels to include translations, reprints and both traditional and experimental writing. Print and online publications are welcome to submit.

Unfortunately, Pushcart Press doesn’t do email or use a submissions manager so physical copies of the work (not the whole publication) must be snail mailed. Nominations must have been published (or scheduled to be published) in the current calendar year. No entry forms or fees. Any of your nominations can add “Pushcart Prize nominated” to their bios which is a nice way to recognize work you thought was exceptional.

Of course, I can’t bring up Pushcart noms without bringing up the Pushcart nom debate. There are some people (*cough* John Matthew Fox) that say since so many people get nominated and so few win, it’s “embarrassing yourself.” This is in his oft-quoted “Open Letter to Pushcart Nominated Folks.” If you want to make yourself feel bad, you can read that here.

I get it Fox, many get nominated, few win. But in my opinion (and last I checked I was still entitled to one) this doesn’t make it less important. Many get nominated, but not all. Editors only get six pieces to nominate out of everything they publish in a year. In 2019, Space and Time published well over 100 pieces. That’s worth something.

Even for those that think it’s no big deal (and no one is claiming it’s the same as being shortlisted for a Bram Stoker Award®, mind you) isn’t it tough enough to be a writer without replacing the few golden moments we have with shame?

I say include it. Throw a damn Pushcart party if you like—some people celebrate Cheesecake Day FFS—a Pushcart nom is a bigger deal than that. Why tarnish the joy? From me, a hearty congratulations to all Pushcart nominations everywhere. An editor thought your work was exemplary, worthy of note. Good job.

And to all my small press editor friends (magazine and book, online and print) get those nominations postmarked by Dec. 1. For the cost of a stamp, you can give someone a good day. We need more of those. Full details on nomination here.

By Angela Yuriko Smith

Angela Yuriko Smith is a third-generation Ryukyuan-American, award-winning poet, author, and publisher with 20+ years in newspapers. Publisher of Space & Time magazine (est. 1966), two-time Bram Stoker Awards® Winner, and HWA Mentor of the Year, she shares Authortunities, a free weekly calendar of author opportunities at authortunities.substack.com.

One thought on “CALLING ALL SMALL PRESS EDITORS”
  1. I cannot agree more with Angela on this! First, why write something whose sole purpose appears to be to try and take away something from somebody else? I have yet to be nominated for ANYTHING and if somebody from something I wrote worthy of a Pushcart nomination, it would be impossible for me to care less how many other people also got nominated! I would be thrilled for myself as well as every single one of the others.

    Just because “you” may find it silly, there’s no reason to say things like they are embarrassing themselves.

    I am curious though, by way of contrast then, does WINNING a Pushcart award then mean even more? Because you beat out so many other nominees?? 🙂

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