The Pushcart Prize XXVII continues as a testament to the flourishing of American literature in our small presses. Edited with the assistance of over 200 distinguished contributing editorsincluding Philip Levine, Rick Bass, Rosellen Brown, Joyce Carol Oates, Billy Collins, and Stephen Dunnthis edition includes over sixty stories, essays, and poems from scores of little magazines and small presses, both print and online. As the consolidation of commercial publishers continues, the small presses capture and encourage what is truly lasting and important in our literary culture. For new writers, the small presses are where they will almost always get their start. The Pushcart Prize serves as their inspiration and source book, with listings of hundreds of presses. Among writers discovered in the Pushcart editions are John Irving, Mary Gordon, Rick Moody, and many more.