(A Press 53 Online Publication)

Welcome to Issue 251 of Prime Number Magazine! In this issue you will find the winners of our free, monthly 53-Word Story Contest for September, October, November, and December 2023, our Pushcart Prize Nominees for 2023, winner of the Prime 53 Poem Summer Challenge, winners of the PNM Flash Fiction Prize, new poetry selected by Mary Jane White, new short fiction selected by Joseph Rein, and an introduction of our guest editors for Issue 263, September-December 2024.

A note for our new readers: Prime Number Magazine has been publishing distinctive poetry and short fiction (with every issue number being a prime number) beginning with Issue 2 on July 17, 2010.

We hope you enjoy every word of this issue and that you will share our link with your friends. To begin your reading journey, scroll down and click on the author photos or the links (light blue type). Your escape has arrived!

But first, a quick message

Now Open for Entries!

2024 Prime Number Magazine Award for Poetry & Short Fiction

$1,000 First Prize in each category

Publication in Prime Number Magazine, Issue 263, Sept-Dec 2024

Deadline: March 31, 2024

Read Our Guidelines to Enter

Congratulations to Our Nominees
for the 2024 Pushcart Prize!

Each year, small presses can nominate up to six pieces they published that year (2023) for a Pushcart Prize. Please join us in celebrating our 2024 nominees.

**POETRY:** “Mussels in Galway” by **Marceline White** (Issue 233, *Prime Number Magazine*, Jan-Apr 2023)

**POETRY:** “The Last Time” by **Steve Cushman** (Issue 233, *Prime Number Magazine*, Jan-Apr 2023)

**POETRY:** “Only in the Poem” by **Fred Gallagher** (Issue 241, *Prime Number Magazine*, Sept-Dec 2023)

**SHORT FICTION:** “What’s the Plan Then?” by **Sean Burke** (Issue 239, *Prime Number Magazine*, May-Aug 2023)

**SHORT FICTION:** “Tea with the Queen” by **Jasmine Sawers** (Issue 241, *Prime Number Magazine*, Sept-Dec 2023)

**SHORT FICTION:** “The Chesterton Girls” by **Mark Lindensmith** (Issue 241, *Prime Number Magazine*, Sept-Dec 2023)

Winners of our FREE, monthly 53-Word Story Contest

A free, monthly writing competition. 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

Get your prompt and have some fun!

**September (chewing):** “Roadside Attraction” by **Jason Ryan**

**October (a blend):** “Innovation” by **Magdalena Naziemiec**

**November (a leg):** “Autumn Heir” by **Keith Padraic**

December (a code): “Chocolate” by **Audrey Brown**

Winners of the
2023 Prime 53 Poem
Summer Challenge

“In a Typical Cathedral” by **JZ Houlihan**

Winners of the
2023 PNM Flash Fiction Prize

**First Prize ($251):** “Losing It” by **Matt MacBride**

**Second Prize ($151):** “Last Night in Halifax” by **Danila Botha**

**Third Prize ($53):** “So Sings the Washing Machine” by **Wendy K. Mages**

Guest Editor Selections

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 251, January-April 2024.

GUEST EDITOR FOR POETRY

Mary Jane White

Mary Jane White is the author of Dragonfly. Toad. Moon. (Pres 53). She is a poet and translator who practiced law at her home, the O. J. Hager House in Waukon, Iowa. Her first book, Starry Sky to Starry Sky (Holy Cow! Press, 1988), contains translations of Marina Tsvetaeva’s long lyric cycle, “Miles,” which first appeared in The American Poetry Review as an inserted feature. After Russia: Poems by Marina Tsvetaeva (Adelaide Books, New York/Lisbon, 2021) is her most recent translated work.

“Self-Portrait as Firmament” by **Bethany Jarmul**

“The Lamp at the End of the World” by **Michael Simms**

GUEST EDITOR FOR SHORT FICTION

Joseph Rein

Joseph Rein is the author of Roads without Houses (Press 53). His short stories have appeared in Ruminate Magazine, The Pinch Literary Magazine, Laurel Review, and Iron Horse Literary Review. Joseph has had two screenplays produced into award-winning festival films, and he was a finalist for the PAGE International Screenwriting Competition. Joseph is currently an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

“The Prince of Denmark” by **Jay Kauffmann**

“Humans” by **Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin**

Meet Our Guest Editors for Issue 263, Sep-Dec 2024

Open now for submissions until February 29!

Guest Editor for Poetry

Michael Beadle is the author of four poetry chapbooks, a poetry CD, and three books on historic photographs of Haywood County in western North Carolina. His poetry has been published in various journals and anthologies such as The New Southerner, Sow’s Ear, Great Smokies Review, and Kakalak. Visit his Press 53 author page to learn more.

Clifford Garstang is the author of three collections of short stories, In an Uncharted Country; What the Zhang Boys Know, which won the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction; and House of the Ancients and Other Stories, all from Press 53. His novels are The Shaman of Turtle Valley and Oliver’s Travels. He is also the editor of the three-volume anthology series, Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet, and is the co-founder and former managing editor of Prime Number Magazine. Visit Clifford’s Press 53 author page to learn more.

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 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