Our 2018 Pushcart Nominations

Each year, the Pushcart Prize invites literary magazines and small presses to nominate their best short fiction to be considered for both a prestigious prize and a "best of" anthology. After much hand-wringing and bargaining, the World Weaver Press editors have settled on nominations from the four short story anthologies we published this year.

Scroll down to find out our 2018 Pushcart Prize nominees, plus a brief summary of each story. Congratulations to these authors, and good luck!

Girl Meets Grammarian by G.G. Andrews

From Covalent Bonds, edited by Trysh Thompson

Poet Eliza Stein is trying to establish herself as a new professor at a prestigious university. But when she meets and quarrels with the older Dr. Kunal Narang over sentence diagramming, she realizes it’s going to be more difficult to stake out her place than she expected. If only Kunal wasn’t so infuriating, so infuriatingly charming—or so good with his hands.

Stars, Wings and Knitting Things by J.G. Formato

From Equus, edited by Rhonda Parrish

Annie thinks her and Marcus' house might be haunted. Well, their yard, actually. Upon investigating, however, she finds a glittery white feather and realizes it's not a ghost haunting their backyard, but something much more magical...

Lightless by K.T. Ivanrest

From Equus, edited by Rhonda Parrish

In a world where a man's worth is determined by how much light he exudes one man is devastated when his light begins to dim. Faced with the shame and horror of becoming Lightless Fulsa sets out on a drastic last-ditch attempt to get his light back, putting not only himself but his only friend in great peril.

The Trouble With Love Spells by Sara Dobie Bauer

From SonofaWitch!, edited by Trysh Thompson

Talented witch, Violet, has been crushing on her barista for the past year. Maxwell James is possibly the only thing more gorgeous than the famed mansions of her Charleston hometown, which is why Violet decides to do a spell that'll make him notice her. Imagine her surprise when she wakes up... different.

Agatha Sings to the Scorpions by Jeff Kuykendall

From Mrs. Claus: Not the Fairy Tale They Say, edited by Rhonda Parrish

Every year couples dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus visit 'Scorpion' refugees housed in highly-secured camps to deliver presents and Christmas cheer to the children. On one such visit Santa was the victim of a terrorist attack aimed at the alien 'Scorpions' so now his widow must make the visit on her own. Little does she know the danger didn't end with her husband's death...

Red to Hide the Blood by Hayley Stone

From Mrs. Claus: Not the Fairy Tale They Say, edited by Rhonda Parrish

When Santa's lead reindeer are carried off and slain by a powerful beast he calls the best hunter in the North, Myra, to uncover the culprit and ensure it never happens again. After tracking the predator to its lair Myra uncovers a situation a whole lot more complicated than predator killing prey — magic abounds and nothing is as it seems.

Previous Pushcart Prize Anthologies