Press 53 — Flash Nonfiction for Issue 307, Prime Number Magazine, Jan-Apr 2027
Overview
Prime Number Magazine, published by Press 53, is a literary journal with a longstanding commitment to concise, resonant writing. For Issue 307, the magazine has appointed Shuly Xóchitl Cawood as Flash Nonfiction Editor. Cawood is the author of A Small Thing to Want: Stories, Something So Good It Can Never Be Enough: Poems, and What the Fortune Teller Would Have Said: Flash Essays. Her editorial statement is direct: she seeks flash nonfiction essays of up to 750 words, with a particular appreciation for micro essays that do not pad to length. She emphasizes that while she does not fact-check, she expects every nonfiction piece to be truthful, and she explicitly prohibits fiction in this category. The submission period runs from September 1 to October 31, 2026, or until 79 submissions are received, whichever comes first. There is no fee to submit. Accepted pieces will appear in Issue 307 of Prime Number Magazine, scheduled for January–April 2027. This is a focused call for a specific issue, not a general open reading period, and the cap on submissions suggests a curated, attentive review process. Cawood's curatorial vision is articulated with unusual clarity. She states a preference for pieces that go beyond anecdote, that center on relationships, and that deliver a strong emotional or narrative punch in minimal space. She provides two examples of essays she admires—'Swerve' and 'Snowbound,' both published in Brevity—which signal a taste for literary flash that is precise, resonant, and structurally deliberate. The call is for work that understands the essay as a form of inquiry, not merely a retold event.