Press 53, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is a publisher of award-winning poetry and short fiction collections, and was founded in October 2005.
We ignore market trends and publish writing we love.
We publish 8-10 poetry collections each year, including titles under our Tom Lombardo Poetry Selections, edited by Tom Lombardo; our Silver Concho Poetry Series, edited by Pamela Uschuk and William Pitt Root; plus the winner of our annual Press 53 Award for Poetry.
We publish 3-4 short fiction collections each year by widely published and award-winning authors. One collection is published by way of our Press 53 Award for Short Fiction, while the remaining story collections come to us by actively seeking out writers we find in journals and magazines, and who are winning other contests, including the Prime Number Magazine Awards (formerly the Press 53 Open Awards).
Prime Number Magazine is our quarterly online journal of distinctive poetry and prose from writers at all levels and tastes. Publishing in journals, magazines, and anthologies is a great way to build your bio, build readership, and meet other writers and editors who will later become your support team.
And check out our free monthly 53-Word Story Contest sponsored by Prime Number Magazine.
We encourage you to visit our website at www.Press53.com and sample our books. This helps support our press and our authors. Also find us on Facebook and give us a 'Like."
Best regards,
Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher and Editor in Chief
2025 PRIME NUMBER MAGAZINE AWARD for SHORT FICTION GUIDELINES:
Before entering, please read the following guidelines carefully.
Entry period: January 1 to March 31, 2025 (midnight EASTERN time)
Judge for Short Fiction: Dennis McFadden, author of Jimtown Road, winner of the 2016 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction
First Prize: $1,000 and publication in Prime Number Magazine, Issue 277, Sept-Dec 2025 (a Press 53 online publication)
Two Runners-Up will receive $250 and publication
(Prizes awarded upon publication)
Announcement: Winner, runners-up, and finalists will be announced no later than July 1, 2025 (probably sooner)
Reading Fee: $15
How to Enter the Prime Number Magazine Awards:
Entries are only accepted online via Submittable
Submit one unpublished short story, up to 5,300 words in length, double spaced in a standard 12-pt. type. (Times, Garamond, etc). Make sure your name does not appear on the page with your story. This is a blind read.
Multiple entries: Multiple entries are accepted, but you must enter each story individually and pay the reading fee for each entry.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your entry via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere. You may not replace the withdrawn story with another story. Entry fee is non-refundable.
Editing entry: If you discover an error before the deadline and wish to replace your entry with a corrected version, request "Open Editing" via Submittable. Requests made after the deadline will not be honored.
Judging: All entries are read blind. Judge is asked to disqualify any entry that is recognized, so please use your best judgment.
Eligibility: Contest is open to writers around the world, 18 years of age and older, who write in English.
Note: Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine editors and family members are not eligible. Authors who have published a book-length collection with Press 53 are not eligible. Writers whose work appears in anthologies published by Press 53 or have previously published in Prime Number Magazine are eligible.
Disclaimer: Prime Number Magazine reserves the right to extend the deadline if deemed necessary. Only unpublished works are eligible. Reading fees are non-refundable. Entries with author's name appearing anywhere on the manuscript will not be considered. No refunds will be made. Entries withdrawn from the contest will not receive a refund. All entries must be original to the author.
Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publish & Editor in Chief of Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine.
2025 PRIME NUMBER MAGAZINE AWARD for POETRY GUIDELINES:
Before entering, please read the following guidelines carefully.
Entry period: January 1 to March 31, 2025 (midnight EASTERN time)
Judge for Poetry: Molly Rice, author of Forever Eighty-Eights: Poems
First Prize: $1,000 and publication in Prime Number Magazine, Issue 277, Sept-Dec 2025 (a Press 53 online publication)
Two Runners-Up will be selected and will receive $250 and publication
(Prizes awarded upon publication)
Announcement: Winner, runners-up, and finalists will be announced no later than July 1, 2025 (probably sooner)
Reading Fee: $15
How to Enter the Prime Number Magazine Awards:
Entries are only accepted online via Submittable
Submit one (and only one) unpublished poem, no more than three pages in length in standard 12-pt. type. (Times, Garamond, etc). Make sure your name does not appear on the page with your poem.
Multiple entries: Multiple entries are accepted, but you must enter each poem individually and pay the reading fee for each entry.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your entry via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere. You may not replace the withdrawn poem with another poem. Entry fee is non-refundable.
Editing entry: If you discover an error before the deadline and wish to replace your entry with a corrected version, request "Open Editing" via Submittable. Requests made after the deadline will not be honored.
Judging: All entries are read blind. Judge is asked to disqualify any entry that is recognized, so please use your best judgment.
Eligibility: Contest is open to writers around the world, 18 years of age and older, who write in English.
Note: Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine editors and family members are not eligible. Authors who have published a book-length collection with Press 53 are not eligible. Writers whose work appears in anthologies published by Press 53 or have previously published in Prime Number Magazine are eligible.
Disclaimer: Prime Number Magazine reserves the right to extend the deadline if deemed necessary. Only unpublished works are eligible. Reading fees are non-refundable. Entries with author's name appearing anywhere on the manuscript will not be considered. No refunds will be made. Entries withdrawn from the contest will not receive a refund. All entries must be original to the author.
Questions/Comments should be directed to Kevin Morgan Watson, Publish & Editor in Chief of Press 53 and Prime Number Magazine at kevin @ press53.com (no spaces)