We’re thrilled to announce the finalists of the 2019 FIRECRACKER AWARDS, given for the best self- and independently published books of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry and the best literary magazines in the categories of debut and general excellence, and the recipient of this year’s LORD NOSE AWARD, given in recognition of a lifetime of superlative small press publishing.
This year’s LORD NOSE AWARD recipient is Tender Buttons, founded by poet Lee Ann Brown in 1989 with the aim of publishing the best in experimental women’s writing.
2019 FIRECRACKER AWARDS FINALISTS:
FICTION
A Bright and Pleading Dagger by Nicole Rivas, published by Rose Metal Press
All Roads Lead to Blood by Bonnie Chau, published by Santa Fe Writers Project
Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, translated by Tina Kover, published by Europa Editions
Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead, published by Arsenal Pulp Press
Little Fish by Casey Plett, published by Arsenal Pulp Press
Mina by Kim Sagwa, translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan, published by Two Lines Press
Strawberry Fields by Hilary Plum, published by Fence Books
That Which Girls Conjure Will Help Them Survive by Kristen Stone, published by Guillotine
The Taiga Syndrome by Cristina Rivera Garza, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine and Aviva Kana, published by Dorothy, a publishing project
Trick by Domenico Starnone, translated by Jhumpa Lahiri, published by Europa Editions
CREATIVE NONFICTION
A Handbook of Disappointed Fate by Anne Boyer, published by Ugly Duckling Presse
An Imperfect Rapture by Kelly Beard, published by Zone 3 Press
Before They Left Us by Rosemary Ann Davis, self-published with Old Road Publishing
False Calm: A Journey Through the Ghost Towns of Patagonia by María Sonia Cristoff, translated by Katherine Silver, published by Transit Books
Letters from Max: A Book of Friendship by Sarah Ruhl and Max Ritvo, published by Milkweed Editions
Mating in Captivity: A Memoir by Helen Zuman, self-published with She Writes Press
To Float in the Space Between: A Life and Work in Conversation with the Life and Work of Etheridge Knight by Terrance Hayes, published by Wave Books
No Archive Will Restore You by Julietta Singh, published by Punctum Books
The Leftovers by Shaelyn Smith, published by Cleveland State University Poetry Center
POETRY
Baby, I Don’t Care by Chelsey Minnis, published by Wave Books
Body & Glass by Rodney Koeneke, published by Wave Books
City of the Future by Sesshu Foster, published by Kaya Press
Crosslight for Youngbird by Asiya Wadud, published by Nightboat Books
Dissolve by Sherwin Bitsui, published by Copper Canyon Press
GOOD MORNING AMERICA I AM HUNGRY AND ON FIRE by jamie mortara, published by YesYes Books
Milk by Dorothea Lasky, published by Wave Books
Post Traumatic Hood Disorder by David Tomas Martinez, published by Sarabande Books
The Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods by Tishani Doshi, published by Copper Canyon Press
You Will Always Be Someone From Somewhere Else by Dao Strom, translated by Ly Thuy Nguyen, published by AJAR Press
MAGAZINES: BEST DEBUT
Aquifer: The Florida Review Online
Aster(ix) Journal
Full Bleed
Headway Quarterly
Poet’s Country
The Arkansas International
The Bare Life Review
The Second Shelf: A Quarterly of Rare Books and Words by Women
Twyckenham Notes
Under a Warm Green Linden
MAGAZINES: GENERAL EXCELLENCE
Creative Nonfiction
Poetry
Raleigh Review
Sinister Wisdom
The Cincinnati Review
The Common
The Literary Review
Washington Square Review
Water~Stone Review
ZYZZYVA
The winners of the FIRECRACKER AWARDS will be announced at the awards ceremony on June 5, 2019, from 7 to 9 PM at Poets House in New York City. Read more about the Firecracker Awards.
