June 17, 2020 (New York, NY)—Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP), the national nonprofit organization that for more than 50 years has supported the work of independent literary publishers, has announced the finalists for its sixth 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.
The publishers of winning titles receive a free one-year membership to CLMP, and magazine winners receive a one-year CLMP Member subscription to Submittable. Winning titles are also featured in a national publicity campaign that includes promotional materials being sent to over 500 independent booksellers across the country.
The winners will be announced on June 30, 2020.
THE 2020 FIRECRACKER AWARDS FINALISTS:
FICTION
Flowers of Mold by Ha Seong-nan, translated by Janet Hong, published by Open Letter Books
Glory and Its Litany of Horrors by Fernanda Torres, translated by Eric M. B. Becker, published by Restless Books
The Incompletes by Sergio Chejfec, translated by Heather Cleary, published by Open Letter Books
Last of Her Name by Mimi Lok, published by Kaya Press
The Not Wives by Carley Moore, published by The Feminist Press
Spider Love Song and Other Stories by Nancy Au, published by Acre Books
Tonic and Balm by Stephanie Allen, published by Shade Mountain Press
The Wind That Lays Waste by Selva Almada, translated by Chris Andrews, published by Graywolf Press
They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears by Johannes Anyuru, translated by Saskia Vogel, published by Two Lines Press
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Axiomatic by Maria Tumarkin, published by Transit Books
Blackfishing the IUD by Caren Beilin, published by Wolfman Books
Codependence by Amy Long, published by Cleveland State University Poetry Center
Hatred of Translation by Nathanaël, published by Nightboat Books
Knitting the Fog by Claudia D. Hernández, published by The Feminist Press
Setting the Wire: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis by Sarah C. Townsend, published by The Lettered Streets Press
Socialist Realism by Trisha Low, published by Coffee House Press
throughsmoke by Jehanne Dubrow, published by New Rivers Press
We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan by Lou Sullivan, edited by Ellis Martin and Zach Ozma, published by Nightboat Books
White Flights by Jess Row, published by Graywolf Press
POETRY
Dunce by Mary Ruefle, published by Wave Books
Motion Studies by Jena Osman, published by Ugly Duckling Presse
Personal Volcano by Laura Moriarty, published by Nightboat Books
SLINGSHOT by Cyrée Jarelle Johnson, published by Nightboat Books
while they sleep (under the bed is another country) by Raquel Salas Rivera, published by Birds, LLC
Woodland by Knox Gardner, with music by Aaron Otheim, published by Entre Ríos Books
MAGAZINES: BEST DEBUT
Aquifer: The Florida Review Online
Porter House Review
Protean
MAGAZINES: GENERAL EXCELLENCE
American Short Fiction
The Common
Ecotone
Foglifter Journal
The Kenyon Review
The Literary Review
New England Review
SLICE Magazine
Two Lines Journal
Under a Warm Green Linden
Water~Stone Review
2020 Firecracker Awards Judges
FICTION: Bonnie Chau (All Roads Lead to Blood), Melanie Fleishman (The Center for Fiction), Alex Gilvarry (Eastman Was Here); CREATIVE NONFICTION: Lacy M. Johnson (The Reckonings: Essays), Douglas A. Martin (Acker), Cristina Rodriguez (Deep Vellum Books); POETRY: Thom Donovan (Withdrawn), Celina Su (Landia), Simone White (Dear Angel of Death); MAGAZINES: Laura Cogan (Zyzzyva), Ruben Quesada (AGNI), Alexandra Watson (Apogee Journal).
