Some news I’m holding gently—and proudly—today.
I was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. For one piece of writing. From a small press. In the company of women whose words I deeply admire.
The nomination comes from Story Circle Network, which in 2025 celebrated its 28th year of amplifying women’s voices by continuing its tradition of nominating work for this prestigious prize. A Pushcart nomination is widely recognized as a meaningful honor—one that shines quietly but powerfully on a writer’s résumé.
My essay, “The Day I Chose Dirt over Doctrine,” was selected from the 2025 anthology
Real Women Write: In the Garden.
I’m honored to be listed alongside these extraordinary writers (in alphabetical order):
- Lorinda Boyer — The Day I Chose Dirt over Doctrine
- Debra Dolan — The Gardener’s Ex-Wife (A Story of Letting Go and Growing Back)
- Linda M. Hasselstrom — Late Harvest
- Sue Kusch — Life, Death, and Renewal in the Garden
- Susan Marsh — Going Native
- Ellen Notbohm — My Dirt-y Little Secret
If you’re not familiar with the Pushcart program: since 1976, it has honored the best writing from small independent presses across the U.S., and it remains the most honored literary project in America, with recognition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Each year’s volume gathers voices—many new, many seasoned—into a single, beautifully democratic record of what matters now.
It says: this work landed.
It says: this voice is worth hearing.
It says: stories rooted in truth, soil, grief, growth, and reclamation still matter.
I’m deeply grateful—to Story Circle Network, to the editors and readers of In the Garden, and to every person who keeps showing up for women’s stories that refuse to stay quiet.
If you’d like to read the nominated pieces or explore the anthology, you can request it at your library or find it online here:
👉 https://a.co/d/iSMW4Di
Today, I’m pausing.
Letting this moment sink in.
Hands in the dirt.
Heart wide open.
