2012 Pushcart Prize Ranking — Poetry

 Note: this post first appeared January 12, 2012 on the old Perpetual Folly site.

By now, my ranking of literary magazines is well known among writers. I began the ranking several years ago as I attempted to prioritize my submissions of short stories. I analyzed ten years of Pushcart Prize anthologies and ranked the magazines based on how many prizes and special mentions they had earned using a simple formula to come up with a score. That was the only factor in my ranking, attempting to keep it as objective as possible. I updated the ranking each year when the new anthology was released, adding the new data while dropping the data that was more than ten years old.

 

At the end of 2011, when I updated the Fiction rankings, I did the analysis for Nonfiction as well, and came up with a separate ranking. Both of these lists, as well as the Fiction rankings from prior years, are linked in the sidebar at right.

 

And now, finally, I’ve applied the analysis to Poetry.

 

Some people don’t like rankings, and I can sympathize with their view. But I maintain that the Pushcart Prize is a reasonable proxy for quality, and I think many writers hope to place their work in the best possible magazine. If I were a poet, I’d want to see my work in Poetry, the clear “winner” in this ranking. But I also acknowledge that the Pushcart Press has been slow to recognize the work that is appearing in online magazines, and these magazines, some of which are excellent, are under-represented on the list. Writers should keep this in mind.

 

Are there any surprises here? You tell me. Poetry is clearly dominant, and American Poetry Review is a strong second. But many of the remaining top twenty-five also rank highly in the other genres.

 

For whatever it’s worth to you, here it is:

 

Pushcart Prize Ranking (Poetry) for 2012

2012

Magazine

2012 Score

1

108

2

74

3

65

4

59

5

46

6

45

7

42

8

41

9

40

10

36

11

33

12

32

13

30

14

25

15

21

15

21

15

21

18

20

19

19

20

17

20

17

20

17

23

16

24

15

24

15

24

15

27

14

28

13

28

13

28

13

28

13

28

13

33

12

33

12

33

12

33

12

37

11

37

11

37

11

37

11

37

11

37

11

37

11

37

11

37

11

37

11

37

11

37

11

49

10

49

10

49

10

49

10

49

10

49

Lyric (?)

10

49

10

49

10

49

10

49

10

49

10

49

10

61

8

61

8

61

8

64

7

64

7

64

7

64

7

64

7

64

7

64

7

64

7

72

6

72

6

72

6

72

6

72

6

72

Margie ©

6

72

6

72

6

72

6

72

6

72

6

72

6

72

6

72

Sun

6

72

6

72

6

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

Triplopia (?)

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

5

88

Verse Press ©

5

88

5

88

5

144

4

144

4

144

4

147

3

147

3

147

3

147

3

147

3

152

2

152

2

152

2

152

2

152

PMS

2

152

2

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

Cape Cod Voice (?)

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

Frostproof Review ©

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

Haven Chronicles (?)

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

Lynx House Press (?)

1

158

1

158

1

158

MS.

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

River City (?)

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

Speakeasy ©

1

158

1

158

1

158

Thunder’s Mouth Press ©

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

Xantippe (?)

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

1

158

Roundhouse Press (?)

1

158

1

About the author

Comments

  1. Thank you for your work. This is exactly what I was going to do myself -I’m so grateful to find you’ve already done it!

  2. Thank you for all your hard work in creating this table. I’m sure it will be invaluable to many many poets.
    One question: would you let us know how you came up with the score please? Thank you!

    1. I’ve explained elsewhere that the score is a simple formula–so many points for a Pushcart Prize, fewer points for a special mention. I’m glad you find the list useful! Please share with other poets (and note that there are separate lists for fiction and non-fiction).

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