TLR is excited to share our 2027 nominees for The Best American American Essays and Pushcart Prize.

Ryan Walker’s “Dysphoria” was published in Issue 9. Walker (he/him) is a Pushcart-nominated, queer writer from Dayton, Ohio. He earned his Creative Writing MFA from EKU’s Bluegrass Writers Studio, and his work has been featured by Flights, Longridge Review, Red Noise Collective, Miracle Monocle, The Uncommon Grackle, No Tokens, and others. His hybrid form chapbook Americano has been longlisted for multiple awards. When he isn’t advocating for the Oxford comma, Ryan is exploring a town near you. Instagram: @ryan.wrote.it.

JR Fenn’s “Gelato” was also published in Issue 9. Fenn’s work has appeared in many places, including Boston Review, Gulf Coast, DIAGRAM, Split Lip, 100 Word Story, The Bath Flash Fiction Anthology, and The Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology. She holds an MFA from Syracuse University, where she was awarded the Joyce Carol Oates Prize in Fiction. Other recognitions include the 59th Annual New Millennium Award for Flash Fiction and Stone Canoe’s Robert Colley Prize for Fiction. Her chapbook, Tiny Vessels, won The Masters Review Chapbook Open and is now available from Red Mare Press. She teaches Fiction and Environmental Writing at SUNY ESF and lives in Western New York with her family. Read more at www.jrfenn.com.