At Exposition Review, our mission is to continue to create opportunities for our ever-growing community of talented writers and artists to share their voices and grow their platforms. This is why every year we submit some of our strongest published work for a variety of prestigious literary awards and anthologies. We are proud to present our nominees from our “Spring” issue for the following awards:
Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is one of the most honored awards in the literary world, with the winning pieces published in an annual anthology. We are excited to present this group of writers from our “Spring” issue for inclusion in Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses collection:
Fiction: The Pairs by Jennifer Bannan
Nonfiction: Nesting Material by Lisa Novick
Nonfiction: earthquake weather by Richard A Perez Jr
Poetry: Life at the Equator by Lawrence Bridges
Poetry: this is not a mango memory by nicole fellah
Poetry: The city in which I love you by Karan Kapoor
Best of the Net
Best of the Net from Sundress Publications is an annual anthology that celebrates online publications and works originally published online. When selecting our nominees, we think of our favorite pieces that recognize and embrace the opportunities of digital media, experimenting with form, genre, and content. From “Spring,” we nominated these pieces:
Fiction: The Shape Your Brain Makes by Briana Courtney
Fiction: After Everything Is Said and Done by Valentina Gomez
Nonfiction: TED Talks Love by Danielle Foushée
Nonfiction: Bookmakers’ Guide by Rick Henry
Poetry: Exchange by Mike Bove
Poetry: For Frank O’Hara by Craig Cotter
Poetry: a brief list of everything grief tastes like by nicole fellah
Poetry: a story about pasta by Juliet Gelfman-Randazzo
Poetry: Boy Angels by Max Gregg
Poetry: Work Poem by Karolina Zapal
Art/Comics: Precarious Paradise: A Curated Collection of Artwork by Jessica Taylor Bellamy
Art/Comics: Clover by Jaqi Howard
Art/Comics: Stochastic Gossips by Amy Kurzweil
Best Small Fictions
Best Small Fictions is the first-ever contemporary anthology dedicated solely to anthologizing the best internationally published short hybrid fiction in a given calendar year. The collection features the best microfiction, flash fiction, haibun stories, and prose poetry from around the world. Here are our 2025 nominees from our “Spring” issue and Flash 405 contests:
Is It Cake? by Sally DeWind
This Is Milkweed by Ani King
Boy Angels by Max Gregg
Stories for a Daughter by Muzuki
Absolute Magnitude by Chloe N. Clark
Best Microfiction
The Best Microfiction anthology series recognizes outstanding literary stories of 400 words or fewer. We nominated this piece from our “Spring” issue:
Nina Riggs Poetry Award
Each year, Cave Wall Press awards at least one poet for the finest writing that examines relationships, family, or domestic life in order to honor poet Nina Riggs, author of The Bright Hour and Lucky Lucky. Our 2025 poetry nominees for The Nina Riggs Poetry Award are:
Exchange by Mike Bove
this is not a mango memory by nicole fellah
a brief list of everything grief tastes like by nicole fellah
The city in which I love you by Karan Kapoor
The O. Henry Prize
The O. Henry Prize is the oldest major prize for short fiction in America and seeks to provide a prominent platform for short story writers from all around the world and at all points in their careers. The winners’ stories are collected and published annually by Anchor Books. Expo shared the fiction section from our “Spring” issue for consideration:
The Best American series
The Best American series is a premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Expo was honored to share the following pieces for consideration in the anthologies last year:
Short Stories
Essays
Nesting Material by Lisa Novick
earthquake weather by Richard A Perez Jr
PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers
The PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers recognizes a dozen emerging writers for their debut short stories published in literary magazines, journals, or cultural websites, and aims to support the launch of their careers as fiction writers. Expo was thrilled to be able to nominate two pieces that were their authors’ first published works:
Patron Saint by Daphne Armbruster
The Shape Your Brain Makes by Briana Courtney
Congratulations to our nominees! For our readers, we hope you will take a few extra moments to dive or reimmerse yourself into these wonderful works.