Welcome to our first issue of 2026! This year Prime Number Magazine will celebrate its sixteenth anniversary (July 17, 2010). During that time, PNM has evolved, grown, and now has more than 10,000 readers around the world. Some of this growth is thanks to our free, monthly 53-Word Story Contest, founded in 2011 as an email challenge to our two or three hundred subscribers to send us a 53-word story in response to a prompt. Our first challenge yielded fewer than one hundred stories. Today we receive five hundred to a thousand stories from writers around the world. In 2020, we received a total of 13,906 stories, many coming from students whose teachers are using the 53-Word Story Contest in their classrooms.
In this issue of Prime Number Magazine we introduce our nominees for the 2026 Pushcart Prize from works we published in 2025 (to date, Prime Number Magazine has won two Pushcart Prizes, both for short fiction). You will find winners of the September, October, November, and December 53-Word Story Contest. You will also find selections from guest editors Maura Way (poetry) and Gerry Wilson (short fiction); and flash nonfiction selections from Flash Nonfiction Editor Shuly Xóchitl Cawood. And we introduce our guest editors for Issue 283, May-August 2026 (submissions are open now!).
Everyone at Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine wishes all of our readers a strong and prosperous New Year of adventure, discovery, and great reading. Onward into the future!
The 2026 Prime Number Magazine Awards for Poetry & Short Fiction are now open for entries!
$1,000 First Prize in each category plus publication in Issue 293, Sept-Dec 2026
$250 for two Runners-Up in each category plus publication in Issue 293
Deadline: March 31
Congratulations to our 2026 Pushcart Prize Nominees!
Every year, small presses are invited to nominate six pieces from the dozens or hundreds they published that year in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
The editors of Prime Number Magazine are pleased to announce the following selections that we published in 2025 as our nominees for the 2026 Pushcart Prize.
Winners of our FREE, monthly
53-Word Story Contest
Join our email list to get your prompt on the first day of each month.
Write a 53-word story about (prompt)
Send your story by the fifteenth (15th) day of the month to 53wordstory@gmail.com
Flash Nonfiction selected by Shuly Xóchitl Cawood
A Note from Shuly
On Sunday, January 4, 5-6 p.m. Eastern, I will be offering a free online talk, “Why This One? Flash Essay Picks and Discussion by the Editor," for writers who want to know more about what I am looking for when I select pieces. Grab your seat at the virtual table now. Registration is free and limited.
And if you are new to flash nonfiction and want some tools to help you write your own fabulous piece, I am offering an online seminar, "Moments that Matter: an Introduction to Flash Nonfiction," on Thursday, January 15, 2-4:00 p.m. Eastern ($50). You can register for it here.
And now, here are my selections for Issue 281 …
Editors' Selections in Poetry & Short Fiction
Each issue, we ask our guest editors to select their favorite poems or stories from those submitted during our open submission period. Submissions are free and only accepted through Submittable. Here are the guest editors and their selections for Issue 281, January-April 2026.
GUEST EDITOR FOR POETRY
Maura Way
Maura Way is the author of Another Bungalow and Mummery, both from Press 53. Her poetry and flash memoir have been widely published in journals such as The Appalachian Review, Poet Lore, Hong Kong Review, Puerto del Sol, Hotel Amerika, and The Potomac Review. Her work has also been featured in the North Carolina Poetry Society’s Poetry in Plain Sight program. Originally from Washington, DC, Maura lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, by way of Boise, Idaho. She has been an English teacher since 1995, most recently at New Garden Friends School.
GUEST EDITOR FOR SHORT FICTION
Gerry Wilson
Gerry Wilson is the author of a literary historical novel, That Pinson Girl (Regal House Publishing), and a short story collection, Crosscurrents and Other Stories (Press 53). A lifelong Mississippian, Gerry grew up in the red clay hills of the north that provide the backdrop for That Pinson Girl. In her fiction she likes to probe relationships gone awry and often draws on her Mississippi roots and family myths. For more than twenty years, she taught English and creative writing to high school students. Gerry's short fiction has most recently appeared in Persimmon Tree and December magazine. A recipient of a Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Artist Fellowship for 2025, Gerry lives in Jackson, Mississippi. Find her on Substack.
Meet Our Guest Editors for Issue 283, May-Aug 2026
Submit a story or poem now via Submittable
Poetry and Short Fiction are limited to 199 total submissions in each category,
so submit early!
Guest Short Fiction Editor
Nahal Suzanne Jamir’s writing has been recently published or is forthcoming in journals like Agni Online, Bennington Review, Ploughshares, and StoryQuarterly. Her writing has been nominated five times for Pushcart Prizes, among other awards. She is the author of the story collection In the Middle of Many Mountains (Press 53). Jamir currently lives and teaches creative writing in Florida.
photo by Bobbie Hanvey
Guest Poetry Editor
Adrian Rice is from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He has delivered writing workshops, readings, and lectures throughout Europe and the United States. He is the author of numerous poetry collections, including The Mason’s Tongue, which was shortlisted for the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Literary Prize, and nominated for the Irish Times Prize for Poetry. Adrian now lives with his wife and youngest son in Hickory, North Carolina. He is a Senior Lecturer in University College at App State, Boone.
Visit Adrian’s Press 53 author page to read a sample poem from his collection The Chances of Harm.
prime number
: any integer other than 0 or ± 1 that is not divisible without remainder by any other integers except ± 1 and ± the integer itself (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary)
In literature: poetry and prose that is distinctive and unique (Prime Number Magazine)
Prime Number Magazine is a Press 53 online publication, founded by Clifford Garstang and Kevin Morgan Watson on July 17, 2010, beginning with Issue 2, and continuing with all issues in prime numbers