May 18, 2022 (New York, NY)—The Community of Literary Magazines & Presses (CLMP), the national nonprofit organization that for 55 years has supported the work of independent literary publishers, has announced the finalists for its eighth annual FIRECRACKER AWARDS, given for the best independently published books of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry and the best literary magazines in the categories of debut and general excellence.
CLMP has also announced that Bradford Morrow, Editor of Conjunctions, is the recipient of this year’s LORD NOSE AWARD, given to a publisher or editor in recognition of a lifetime of superlative independent literary publishing.
For the first time in the FIRECRACKER AWARDS’ history, winners will receive a cash prize. Each winner in the books category will receive $2,000—$1,000 for the press and $1,000 for the author or translator—and each winner in the magazine categories will receive $1,000. Publishers of the winning titles will receive a free one-year membership to CLMP, and magazine winners will also receive a one-year CLMP Member subscription to Submittable. Additionally, the winning publications will be featured in a national publicity campaign that includes promotional materials being distributed to over 750 independent booksellers across the country in coordination with the American Booksellers Association.
The winners of this year’s FIRECRACKER AWARDS will be announced and the LORD NOSE AWARD will be presented at a virtual awards ceremony on June 23, 2022, at 7 PM ET.
2022 FIRECRACKER AWARDS FINALISTS
FICTION
Farthest South and Other Stories by Ethan Rutherford, published by A Strange Object
Householders by Kate Cayley, published by Biblioasis
The House of Rust: A Novel by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber, published by Graywolf Press
Pleasantview by Celeste Mohammed, published by Ig Publishing
The Trees: A Novel by Percival Everett, published by Graywolf Press
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief by Victoria Chang, published by Milkweed Editions
Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way by Caseen Gaines, published by Sourcebooks
Migratory Birds by Mariana Oliver, translated by Julia Sanches, published by Transit Books
Names for Light: A Family History by Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint, published by Graywolf Press
Plastic: An Autobiography by Allison Cobb, published by Nightboat Books
POETRY
book of the other: small in comparison by Truong Tran, published by Kaya Press
CURB by Divya Victor, published by Nightboat Books
Phantompains by Therese Estacion, published by Book*hug Press
To Know Crush by Jennifer Jackson Berry, published by YesYes Books
Winter Phoenix: Testimonies in Verse by Sophia Terazawa, published by Deep Vellum
MAGAZINES/BEST DEBUT
Brink
Inverted Syntax
Islandia Journal
Nowruz Journal
SISTORIES
MAGAZINES/GENERAL EXCELLENCE
The American Poetry Review
Bellevue Literary Review
Chicago Review
The Evergreen Review
Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora
LORD NOSE AWARD RECIPIENT
Bradford Morrow, Editor of Conjunctions
2022 FIRECRACKER AWARD JUDGES
FICTION: Donna Hemans, author of Tea by the Sea (Red Hen Press); Carley Moore, author of The Not Wives (Feminist Press); Cristina Rivera Garza, author of Grieving: Dispatches from a Wounded Country (Feminist Press).
CREATIVE NONFICTION: Ander Monson, author of I Will Take the Answer (Graywolf Press); Joni Tevis, author of The World Is on Fire: Scrap, Treasure, and Songs of Apocalypse (Milkweed Editions); Melissa Valentine, author of The Names of All the Flowers (Feminist Press).
POETRY: Xan Phillips, author of Hull (Nightboat Books); Lee Ann Roripaugh, author of tsunami vs. the fukushima 50 (Milkweed Editions); Jillian Weise, author of Cyborg Detective (BOA Editions).
MAGAZINE: Lana Barkawi, Executive and Artistic Director, Mizna; Rob Greene, Publisher, Raleigh Review; Miah Jeffra, Cofounder, Foglifter Journal.
More information about the judges can be found here.
ABOUT CLMP
CLMP ensures a vibrant, diverse literary landscape by helping mission-driven CLMP ensures a vibrant, diverse literary landscape by helping mission-driven independent literary magazines and presses thrive. Since 1967, CLMP has provided publishers with funding and technical assistance; facilitated peer-to-peer learning and group action; served as a dependable, essential hub for best practices, resources, and nurturing community support; and connected publishers with other groups of literary stakeholders, including readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, educators, presenting organizations, and funders. Along with directly serving 900+ publishers located in almost every state in the country, CLMP administers the Lit Mag Adoption program, which provides educators and students with discounted magazine subscriptions; the annual Indie Lit Fair, in partnership with the PEN World Voices Festival; the $10,000 Constellation Award, given to honor an independent literary press that is led by and/or champions the writing of people of color for excellence in publishing; and the Firecracker Awards for Independently Published Literature, which celebrate magazines and books that make a significant contribution to our literary culture, among other programs.
