Pushcart-Prize Nominees
We nominate our authors for the Pushcart Prize every year.
At Chicago Story Press Literary Journal, we nominate 6 authors each year for the Pushcart Prize, one of the highest honors in small press publishing. We champion writers whose work sticks with us—stories that are honest and that tell us something meaningful about the world we live in.
Congratulation to our 2025 Nominees!
Ryan Berg: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/release-me-by-ryan-berg
Mansi Bhatia: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/the-field-between-us-by-mansi-bhatia
Jeannie Ewing: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/cries-of-despair-a-birth-story-rewritten-by-jeannie-ewing
Tara Hashagan: https://chicagostorypress.com/literary-journal/f/scars-annotated-perfected-by-ruin-by-tara-hashagen
Nettie Reynolds: https://chicagostorypress.com/literary-journal/f/what-they-don%E2%80%99t-tell-you-about-dying-alone-by-nettie-reynolds
Janine Willis: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/the-cove-that-held-me-by-janine-a-willis
Congratulations to our 2024 Nominees!
Melissa Colasanti: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/the-weight-of-words-by-melissa-colasanti-woods
Sarah Harley: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/all-things-parallel-by-sarah-harley
Kathleen Tighe: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/the-prayer-rug-by-kathleen-tighe
JoAnn Stevelos: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/how-do-you-forgive-the-unforgivable-by-joann-stevelos
Tommy Cheis: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/especially-in-absentia-by-tommy-cheis
Elle Lash: https://chicagostorypress.com/f/whore-mother-by-elissa-lash
What is the Pushcart Prize?
The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses series, published every year since 1976, is the most honored literary project in America - including Highest Honors from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Since 1976, hundreds of presses and thousands of writers of short stories, poetry and essays have been represented in our annual collections. Each year most of the writers and many of the presses are new to the series. Every volume contains an index of past selections, plus lists of outstanding presses with addresses.
The Pushcart Prize has been a labor of love and independent spirits since its founding. It is one of the last surviving literary co-ops from the 60's and 70's. Our legacy is assured by donations to our Fellowships endowment.
Best of the Net Nominees
We nominate our authors for Best of the Net
We nominate two authors--starting in 2026!
Congratulation to our 2026 Nominees!
Coming soon!
What is the Best of the Net?
The Best of the Net is an awards-based anthology designed to grant a platform to a diverse and growing collection of writers and publishers who are building an online literary landscape that seeks to break free of traditional publishing. This space has been created to bring greater respect to the continually expanding world of exceptional digital publishing.