# Firecracker Award

The Firecracker Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards focusing on small-press publishing. Previously known as the Firecracker Alternative Book Awards (FABs), in the current form they are known as the CLMP Firecracker Awards for Independently Published Literature, and are administered by the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP).
The Firecracker Alternative Book Awards were established in 1996 and were presented through 2002. The Firecracker Awards returned in 2015, "to celebrate books and magazines that make a significant contribution to our literary culture and the publishers that strive to introduce important voices to readers far and wide."
Neither version of the Firecracker books awards are related to an identically named award given to "women photographers born or working in Europe."

## Process

CLMP Firecracker Awards are given to one winner annually in each of five categories: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Best Debut in Magazine, and General Excellence in Magazine. A shortlist of nominees in each category is announced beforehand. (There have previously been other categories but they have been retired or subsumed in the existing five.)
According to a 2014 Publishers Weekly article, the awards are "judged by a panel of writers, editors, booksellers, and agents. Members of the Firecracker Committee include representatives from, in addition to CLMP and the ABA, Tin House, Workman Publishing, Random House, Byliner, Greenlight Books, and a host of literary agents...."
In the book categories, winning presses receive $1,000-2,000, and authors or translators receive $1,000. Magazine winners receive $1,000 each. The winning titles are also showcased in CLMP's national publicity campaigns.
Generally, the Firecrackers are announced each June. Each ceremony includes the naming of that year's recipient of the Lord Nose Award, "given in recognition of a lifetime of superlative work in literary publishing."

## History

The Firecracker Alternative Book Awards were established in 1996 by John Davis of Koen Book Distribution, with support from Publishers Group West, Publishers Weekly, and Tower Books & Records. The FABs were designed to bring attention to "the best in alternative printing" by honoring books on the "'unmapped edges of contemporary culture' that 'sharpen the cutting edge.'" Categories included Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Politics, Sex, Music, Graphic Novel, Zine, Kids, Art/Photo, Drugs, and Special Recognition/Wildcard. Winners "were selected via an online voting system."
The FABs were administered by volunteers rather than an official organization, and after 2002 the task became "unsustainable." CLMP was approached at that time about continuing the awards, but the organization passed on the opportunity for a couple of reasons, one being that the voting system "bore a lack of transparency that raised concerns," and the other being that CLMP felt it needed to gain more solid financial footing before it took on administering a set of literary awards.
The revitalized CLMP Firecracker Awards returned in 2015, "broadening the focus from strictly unorthodox works."

## Winners
### FABs (1996–2002)

Firecracker Alternative Book Award winners :
| Year | Category | Author/Recipient | Title |
| 1996 | Fiction | Georges Perec | A Void |
| 1996 | Nonfiction | Carl Jensen and Project Censored | Censored: The News that Didn't Make the News — and Why |
| 1996 | Poetry | S. E. Anderson and Tony Medina | In Defense of Mumia |
| 1996 | Politics | Leonard Weinglass | Race for Justice: Mumia Abu-Jamal's Fight Against the Death Penalty |
| 1996 | Graphic Novel | Art Spiegelman & Robert Sikoryak, eds. | The Narrative Corpse |
| 1996 | Music | Henry Rollins | Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag |
| 1996 | Drugs | Dale Pendell | Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft |
| 1996 | Sex | Kitty Tsui | Breathless: Erotica |
| 1996 | Special Recognition/Wildcard | David Robinson | Saving Graces |
| 1996 | Special Recognition/Wildcard | Peter Lamborn Wilson | Pirate Utopias |
| 1997 | Fiction | Rob Hardin | Distorture |
| 1997 | Nonfiction | Leslie Feinberg | Transgender Warriors |
| 1997 | Poetry | Linda Smukler | Home in Three Days. Don't Wash. |
| 1997 | Politics | Peter Phillips | Censored 1997: The News That Didn't Make the News: The Year's Top 25 Censored News Stories |
| 1997 | Graphic Novel | Ted Rall | Real Americans Admit: "The Worst Thing I've Ever Done" |
| 1997 | Art/Photo | Susie Bright & Jill Posener, eds. | Nothing but the Girl: the Blatant Lesbian Image: A Portfolio and Exploration of Lesbian Erotic Photography |
| 1997 | Sex | Paul Joannides with Dærick Gröss Sr. (illus.) | The Guide to Getting it On |
| 1997 | Drugs | Everything I Know I Learned on Acid | Coco Pekelis (editor) |
| 1997 | Music | Iggy Pop | I Need More |
| 1997 | 'Zine | Celina Hex and Betty Boob, editors/publishers | Bust |
| 1997 | Kids | Davida Adedjouma, editor | The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children |
| 1997 | Outstanding Independent Press of the Year | AK Press | |
| 1997 | Outstanding Independent Press of the Year | Cleis Press | |
| 1997 | Outstanding Independent Press of the Year | Incommunicado | |
| 1997 | Special Recognition/Wildcard: This Ain't Yer Family's Photo Album | Katherine Dunn and Sean Tejaratchi | Death Scenes |
| 1997 | Special Recognition/Wildcard: Don't Cook With Your Mouth Full | Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge | InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook |
| 1997 | Recall Hoekstra Award for Special Merit in Literary Publishing | FC2/Black Ice Books | |
| 1998 | Fiction | Scott Heim | In Awe |
| 1998 | Nonfiction | Carolyn Lei-Lanilau | Ono Ono Girl's Hula |
| 1998 | Poetry | Gerry Gomez Pearlberg | Queer Dog: Homo/Pup/Poetry |
| 1998 | Politics | Howard Zinn | The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy |
| 1998 | Graphic Novel | Bob Fingerman | Minimum Wage Book 2: Tales of Hoffman |
| 1998 | Kids | Javaka Steptoe | In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers |
| 1998 | Music | Laurent de Wilde | Monk |
| 1998 | Drugs | Bobcat Press | The Joint Rolling Handbook |
| 1998 | Sex | Tristan Taormino | The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women |
| 1998 | Special Recognition/Wildcard | Max Cannon | Red Meat: A Collection of Red Meat Cartoons From the Secret Files of Max Cannon |
| 1998 | Special Recognition/Wildcard | Jim Jarmusch, contributor | Original Sin: The Visionary Art of Joe Coleman |
| 1998 | Special Recognition/Wildcard | Constance Penley | NASA/Trek: Popular Science and Sex in America |
| 1999 | Fiction | Carol Queen | The Leather Daddy and the Femme |
| 1999 | Nonfiction | Inga Muscio | Cunt: A Declaration of Independence |
| 1999 | Poetry | Michael Madsen | Burning In Paradise |
| 1999 | Politics | Gary Webb | Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Cocaine Explosion |
| 1999 | Graphic Novel | Eric Drooker | Street Posters and Ballads: A Selection of Songs, Poems, and Graphics |
| 1999 | Music | Michael J. Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind | Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground |
| 1999 | Sex | Maurice Vellekoop | Maurice Vellekoop's ABC Book: A Homoerotic Primer |
| 1999 | Drugs | Steven Cerio | Steven Cerio's ABC Book: A Drug Primer |
| 1999 | Art/Photo | Steve Diet Goedde | The Beauty of Fetish |
| 1999 | Zine | Teresa Cooper and Lisa Zale, publishers | The Fish Tank |
| 1999 | Kids | Charles Burns (cartoonist) and Gary Panter | Facetasm: A Creepy Mix & Match Book of Gross Face Mutations |
| 1999 | Outstanding Independent Press of the Year | Cleis Press | |
| 1999 | Self Improvement | Kate Bornstein with Diane DiMassa, illustrator | My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely |
| 1999 | Special Recognition/Wildcard: Maybe Mr. Falwell Was Right | Andrew Davenport, editor | Teletubbies: Dancing with the Skirt |
| 1999 | Special Recognition/Wildcard: Maybe the NEA Was Wrong | Subcomandante Marcos, Anne Bar Din (translator), Domitilia Dominguez (illustrator) | The Story of Colors/La Historia de los Colores: A Bilingual Folktale from the Jungles of Chiapas |
| 2000 | Fiction | Marci Blackman | Po Man's Child |
| 2000 | Nonfiction | Howard Zinn and David Barsamian, interviewer | The Future of History |
| 2000 | Poetry | Alan Kaufman (writer) and S.A. Griffin, eds. | The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry |
| 2000 | Politics | William Upski Wimsatt | No More Prisons |
| 2000 | Graphic Novel | Julie Doucet | My New York Diary |
| 2000 | Kids | Subcomandante Marcos and Anne Bar Din, translator | The Story of Colors/La Historia de los Colores: A Bilingual Folktale from the Jungles of Chiapas |
| 2000 | Sex | Shawna Kenney | I Was a Teenage Dominatrix |
| 2000 | Drugs | Paul Krassner, compiler | High Times Presents Paul Krassner's Pot Stories for the Soul |
| 2000 | Music | Bryan Ray Turcotte and Christopher T. Miller, eds. | Fucked Up + Photocopied: Instant Art of the Punk Rock Movement |
| 2000 | Art/Photo | Trina Robbins | From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines |
| 2000 | Special Recognition/Wildcard: Books about Gap-Toothed Deceased Female Cartoonists with Smelly Dogs | Dori Seda | Dori Stories |
| 2000 | Special Recognition/Wildcard: Best Propaganda Video Guide | Ken Smith (writer) | Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945-1970 |
| 2001 | Fiction | Neal Pollack | The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature |
| 2001 | Nonfiction | Alexander Theroux | The Strange Case of Edward Gorey |
| 2001 | Poetry | Shappy & Sam Henderson | Little Book of Ass |
| 2001 | Politics | Ralph Nader | The Ralph Nader Reader |
| 2001 | Graphic Novel | Chris Ware | Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth |
| 2001 | Sex | Katharine Gates | Deviant Desires |
| 2001 | Drugs | Mary Jane | Aunt Mary Jane's Baking With Pot |
| 2001 | Music | David Margolick | Strange Fruit |
| 2001 | Art/Photo | Gina Garan | This Is Blythe |
| 2001 | Kids | Mindy Morgenstern | The Real Rules for Girls |
| 2001 | Special Recognition — Spoken Word | Daphne Gottlieb | Why Things Burn |
| 2002 | Fiction | Beth Lisick | This Too Can Be Yours |
| 2002 | Nonfiction | Eric Schlosser | Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal |
| 2002 | Poetry | Dodie Bellamy | Cunt-Ups |
| 2002 | Politics | Noam Chomsky | 9-11 |
| 2002 | Graphic Novel | Joe Sacco | Palestine |
| 2002 | Art/Photo | Chris Cooper | Devil's Advocate: The Art of Coop |
| 2002 | Kids | Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly, eds. | Little Lit: Strange Stories for Strange Kids |
| 2002 | Music | Daniel Sinker | We Owe You Nothing |
| 2002 | Drugs | Phil Shoenfelt | Junkie Love |
| 2002 | Sex | Annie Sprinkle with Gabrielle H. Cody | Hardcore from the Heart: The Pleasures, Profits and Politics of Sex in Performance |

### CLMP Firecrackers Awards (2015–present)

CLMP Firecracker Award winners :
| Year | Category | Author | Title |
| 2015 | Fiction | Jeffery Renard Allen | Song of the Shank |
| 2015 | Creative Nonfiction | Marie NDiaye | Self-Portrait in Green |
| 2015 | Poetry | Bernadette Mayer | Sonnets: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition |
| 2015 | Graphic Novel | Hubert Boulard and Kerascoët | Beauty (Beauté) |
| 2015 | Young Adult | Patty Blount | Some Boys |
| 2015 | Magazines/For Poetry | | Poetry |
| 2015 | Magazines/Best Debut | | Story |
| 2015 | Magazines/General Excellence | | Tin House |
| 2016 | Fiction | Andrés Neuman | The Things We Don't Do |
| 2016 | Creative Nonfiction | Joni Tevis | The World is On Fire: Scrap, Treasure, and Songs of Apocalypse |
| 2016 | Poetry | Anne Boyer | Garments Against Women |
| 2016 | Literary Magazine | | A Public Space |
| 2017 | Fiction | Ananda Devi with Jeffrey Zuckerman (trans.) | Eve Out of Her Ruins |
| 2017 | Creative Nonfiction | Renee Gladman | Calamities |
| 2017 | Poetry | Douglas Kearney | Buck Studies |
| 2017 | Magazines: Best Debut | | Bennington Review |
| 2017 | Magazine: General Excellence | | Prairie Schooner |
| 2018 | Fiction | Rivers Solomon | An Unkindness of Ghosts |
| 2018 | Creative Nonfiction | Aisha Sabatini Sloan | Dreaming of Ramadi in Detroit |
| 2018 | Poetry | Javier Zamora | Unaccompanied |
| 2018 | Magazines: Best Debut | | Flock Literary Journal |
| 2018 | Magazines: General Excellence: | | One Story |
| 2019 | Fiction | Casey Plett | Little Fish |
| 2019 | Creative Nonfiction | Shaelyn Smith | The Leftovers |
| 2019 | Poetry | Sesshu Foster | City of the Future |
| 2019 | Magazines: Best Debut | | Aster(ix) |
| 2019 | Magazines: General Excellence | | ZYZZYVA |
| 2020 | Fiction | Johannes Anyuru with Saskia Vogel (trans.) | They Will Drown in their Mothers' Tears |
| 2020 | Creative Nonfiction | Jehanne Dubrow | throughsmoke |
| 2020 | Poetry | Jena Osman | Motion Studies |
| 2020 | Poetry | Laura Moriarty | Personal Volcano |
| 2020 | Magazines/Best Debut | | Porter House Review |
| 2020 | Magazines/General Excellence | | Two Lines Journal |
| 2021 | Fiction | Aoko Matsuda with Polly Barton (trans.) | Where the Wild Ladies Are |
| 2021 | Creative Nonfiction | Melissa Valentine | The Names of All the Flowers |
| 2021 | Poetry | Justin Phillip Reed | The Malevolent Volume |
| 2021 | Magazines/Best Debut | | Lucky Jefferson |
| 2021 | Magazines/General Excellence | | Mizna |
| 2022 | Fiction | Celeste Mohammed | Pleasantview |
| 2022 | Creative Nonfiction | Allison Cobb | Plastic: An Autobiography |
| 2022 | Poetry | Truong Tran | book of the other: small in comparison |
| 2022 | Magazines/Best Debut | | Sistories |
| 2022 | Magazines/General Excellence | | Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora |
| 2023 | Fiction | Zain Khalid | Brother Alive |
| 2023 | Creative Nonfiction | Douglas Kearney | Optic Subwoof |
| 2023 | Poetry | Solmaz Sharif | Customs |
| 2023 | Magazines/Best Debut | | 128 Lit |
| 2023 | Magazines/General Excellence | | Ecotone |