''Prairie Schooner'' is a literary magazine published quarterly at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

with the cooperation of UNL's English Department and the

University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Ne ...

. It is based in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

and was first published in 1926. It was founded by Lowry Wimberly and a small group of his students, who together formed the Wordsmith Chapter of Sigma Upsilon (a national honorary

literary society A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newslet ...

). Although many assume it is a regional magazine, it is nationally and internationally distributed and publishes writers from all over the United States and the world. ''Prairie Schooner'' has garnered reprints, and honorable mentions in the

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

anthologies and various of the ''Best American'' series, including '' Best American Short Stories'', ''Best American Essays'', ''Best American Mystery Stories'', and ''Best American Nonrequired Reading''.

Editors

''Prairie Schooners current editor (2011–present) is Jamaican/Ghanaian poet and author Kwame Dawes.

Previous editors

* 1926–1956 Lowry Wimberly * 1956–1963 Karl Shapiro * 1963–1980 Bernice Slote * 1980–1987 Hugh Luke * 1987–2011 Hilda Raz

Notable contributors

Glenna Luschei Fund and awards

In 2001, the magazine and its editorship were endowed in perpetuity by poet and literary philanthropist Glenna Luschei under the Glenna Luschei Fund for Excellence at the University of Nebraska Foundation. In addition to funding the magazine and its special projects, the endowment funds one $1,500 Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Award and ten $250 Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Awards every year. The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry is run by the African Poetry Book Fund in partnership with ''Prairie Schooner'' and is also named for and funded by Glenna Luschei.

Raz-Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize

The Raz-Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize is an American

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award c ...

presented yearly since 2003, one award for

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and one award for

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

. It is run by the literary magazine ''Prairie Schooner'' and

. Winners receive $3,000 and publication through the University of Nebraska Press.Prairie Schooner Book Prize
The Official Blog of the Western Literature Association, February 11, 2010.Robert Lee Brewer (2011). ''2012 Writer's Market Deluxe Edition'', Writer's Digest Books, September 2, 2011
Pg.984
Manuscripts are accepted from all living writers, including non-US citizens, writing in English.

Past Winners

References

External links

The ''Prairie Schooner''''Prairie Schooner'' Book Prize
official website. {{University of Nebraska–Lincoln Magazines established in 1926 Magazines published in Nebraska Mass media in Lincoln, Nebraska Poetry magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States University of Nebraska–Lincoln