Announcing Half Mystic’s Nominees for the 2026 Pushcart Prize

Through the grief & grace 2025 laid at our feet, Half Mystic’s devotion to the mellifluous remained constant as a heartbeat. In this year of retrospection—marked by celebrating our ten-year anniversary with the Long Crescendo—we were also granted the joy of publishing our most incisive & tender work yet. From Half Mystic Journal Opus II, Issue II: Sevdah, here are our editorial team’s nominees for the 2026 Pushcart Prize:

• “The Bridge Keepers” by Natalye Childress

• “In My DMs the Magic Lamp Says hbd xx rub me princess &” by Sophie Crocker

• “Eulogy: Golden Shovel Upon Showing Tinder to My 85-Year-Old Landlord” by Adam Falkner

• “Ignoring the Blood on My Pillow, I Listen to Debussy” by Rita Mookerjee

• “The Sevdah Machine” by Jordan Silversmith

This year’s selections span the tangible & invented, from abandoned concert halls to broken bridges to sun-spotted kitchen tables. They are landmarks & lighthouses; they are wryly tragic & agonisingly gentle; they live with one foot in the ancestral & one in the visionary. These pieces have animated our imaginations & illuminated our pages. It’s been a privilege to champion them in our ongoing celebration of music in all its forms. To the writers, artists, & musicians who have submitted your work to Half Mystic this year, thank you for your trust. To our 2026 Prize nominees, thank you for embodying the very best of what we’re making together. Good luck, & onward. Here’s to possibility.