The Pushcart Prize is one of the most prestigious literary prizes given to small presses and authors published by them.
And, this year, a Pushcart landed close to home when Daniel Peña won for his short story Safe Home, originally published in 2015. Peña is an assistant professor of English at University of Houston-Downtown.
Producer Paige Phelps spoke to him about the award, the life of a writer and what drew him to his dangerous plot.