As the annual judging draws to a close, a small set of grand prize award finalists is announced for the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose. This small list or "short list" of finalists is an honored distinction of its own and is announced publicly during the summer of each award year. Below are the current and previous short-listed entires in alphabetical order by author:
2010
| Jim Musgrave, |
Letter to the President of the United States of America |
| Deborah Rise McMenamy, |
Love, Like Stew |
| Adam King, |
Outer Spaces |
| Talia Carner, |
The Maidens and the Messiah |
| Beverly Akerman, |
The Sea of Tranquility |
| Rachel Maczuzak, |
Wasted |
2009
| Michael Campagnoli, |
The Boundless Arc & Other Dreams |
| Louis E. Catron, |
Snipe Hunting |
| Marissa Dimick, |
The Six Silver Pieces |
| Kathleen Gerard, |
Pile Up |
| Nikolina Kulidzan, |
Belgrade Motion Pictures |
| Chris Miller, |
Literary Mary |
| Oindrila Mukherjee, |
The Ways We Cook Fish |
| Ron Savage, |
A Beggar’s Life |
| Janset Berkok Shami, |
Independence Day |
| Carol Smallwood, |
Death in the Family |
| Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, |
Wolfpack |
| Gina Troisi, |
Indulgence |
2008
| Andrei Bhuyan, |
The Cube |
| Jeff Freiert, |
The Mohawk's Fear of Falling |
| James Kaelan, |
A Deliberate Life |
| Reggie Lutz, |
Ice Masons |
| R.A. Rycraft, |
Komunyakaa Days |
| Rhys Schrock, |
Wrapped Up in the Written Word |
| Gladys Swan, |
Small Wonder |
| Sharon van Ivan, |
Juggle and Hide |
2007
| Linda Lappin, |
Katherine's Wish |
| Clare MacQueen, |
But I Didn't Do Anything |
| Lance Olsen, |
Calendar of Regrets (an excerpt) |
| Rex Sexton, |
Holy Night |
| Janset Berkok Shami, |
Sophia and Superman |
| Laurie Stone, |
Threads |
| Susan Tekulve, |
The Nipper |
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