By Flapper Press:
Flapper Press is proud to announce our nominations for the annual Pushcart Prize in writing!
These selected prose pieces were published on our site in 2023 and reflect the high quality and truly unique voices of our many writers. As always, the selection process is difficult, and we are grateful to all the writers and artists who submitted their work this past year.
The Pushcart Prize Anthology is published by Pushcart Press and honors the best in American "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in small presses over the previous year. The endowment for the award comes from The Pushcart Prize Fellowships Inc.—a 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation. Although the award has no monetary prizes, an anthology of the selected works are published annually to feature the winners.
Small-press editors nominate up to six pieces (6 poems or essays, or a combination of the two) in any genre from work that appeared in their pages over the past year. A panel of judges compiled from previous Pushcart Prize winners and editors select the winners.
This year, Flapper Press nominated three works in short fiction and essays, along with three poems.
Congratulations to our nominees, and thank you to all the writers who shared their work with us this year at Flapper Press!
Meet our Pushcart Prize nominees in writing for 2023!
Lorraine Caputo brings her beautiful observations to Flapper Press with a lyrical trip to Puerto Barrios.
Lorraine Caputo is a wandering troubadour whose poetry appears in over 400 journals on six continents, and 23 collections of poetry—including In the Jaguar Valley (dancing girl press, 2023) and Caribbean Interludes (Origami Poems Project, 2022). She also authors travel narratives, articles and guidebooks. Her writing has been honored by the Parliamentary Poet Laureate of Canada (2011) and thrice nominated for the Best of the Net. Caputo has done literary readings from Alaska to the Patagonia. She journeys through Latin America with her faithful knapsack Rocinante, listening to the voices of the pueblos and Earth.
Find out more about Lorraine Caputo:
Facebook: lorrainecaputo.wandererÂ
Instagram: @lorrainecaputoc  Â
Gillian Kessler
"On Bringing My Child to Malawi—Some Morning Musings"
Gillian Kessler reflects on the joy and insight gained alongside her daughter during an educational workshop in Malawi.
Gillian Kessler can be found dancing to loud music, teaching exuberant teens to appreciate language, writing in the early morning when everyone is asleep, and exploring the wilds of Montana with her beautiful family. Gillian studied poetry at Santa Clara University with Edward Kleinschmidt, UCLA Extension with Suzanne Lummis and, more recently, in Missoula under the exceptional guidance of Chris Dombrowski, Mark Gibbons, and Phillip Schaffer. Her poems and essays have been published in Mamalode Magazine, and she writes frequently for Flapper Press. Her poetry was featured in the anthology Poems Across the Big Sky Volume II. Her first collection of poems, Lemons and Cement, came out in 2017. Gillian was also recently selected as one of the poets for the Montana Poetry Series. Her latest work, Ash in the Tree, was published by FootHills Press in July 2021
Derek May
"A Case for Physical Media"
Derek May argues against the disappearance of our music, movies, and books in physical form.
Derek May, of San Antonio, TX, is Editor-in-Chief and occasional writer for Flapper Press. He has written nearly 50 movie reviews for movieweb.com and completed 13 original feature film and television screenplays, many of which have been winners or finalists in such prestigious competitions as the Walt Disney and Nicholl Fellowships, the Austin Film Festival, and the Creative World Awards. He served as a judge for 10 years for the Austin Film Festival and Texas Film Institute screenplay competitions. His latest project has been the highly acclaimed stop-motion animation fan series Highlander: Veritas, which released its second season in July 2022.
We are proud to announce our 2023 Pushcart Prize in Poetry in tomorrow's article.
Flapper Press is an online magazine featuring a curated collection of eclectic and often under-represented viewpoints from an international team of writers. Our goal is to provide readers with a wide variety of topics, opinions, and authentic expression in order to educate and foster personal growth and empathy while promoting positive change in the world. Please consider submitting your work!