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I never know what year to slap on this annual announcement. The Pushcart Prize anthology will come out in 2026, but all the pieces will have been published in 2025.

Let’s just be forward-looking and go with 2026.

In any event, here are the six pieces I’ve selected to represent The Disappointed Housewife this time around. They’re all unique, beautiful, provocative, and awesome, and here’s hoping that one or more makes the cut this year and gets picked up for broad exposure.

STORIES

What Have They Done to the Horses?  ~ Chrissy Stegman

Having Weight ~ Cate McGowan

POEMS

The 101 Uses of a Cravat ~ E.R. Davis

Look at This ~ David P. Miller

There Are No Wild Dogs in Brooklyn Heights ~ Tessa McHattie

ESSAY

Experiential Ecotone: Hashimoto’s Disease & Gestational Diabetes ~ Court Harler

Dottie and I are proud to feature these special pieces, but we also want to acknowledge all the other eligible work published here this year. We like to point out that every poem, story, and essay we accept is good enough to be nominated but we only get six tickets.

Congratulations to all!

Kevin Brennan
Editor
The Disappointed Housewife