December has been one of my favorite months for the past four years because it’s the month we get to announce our nominations for that year’s Pushcart Prizes. This year, we were able to nominate six of the best stories that Empty Sink has ever published. They are:

Automatically Hip, by John McCaffrey
Rites of Passage, by Victoria Barycz
The Sound of Trees, by Spencer K. M. Brown
Opportunity Knocks, by Rachael Levitt
My First Trip to the Mental Hospital, by Monica Behr
Cannonball, by Matt McDonald

Each of these stories has its own personality. These stories present worlds to inhabit–not just words on the page. Each one was a welcome reminder that in the age where your phone can answer almost any question you ask it, the human condition still contains depths of mysteries that are sometimes best plumbed via the medium of written fiction.

We hope you are able to take some time during the holiday season to relax with a good story or two, and our Pushcart nominees are a great place to start!

–Branden and Adam