Dzanc Books was created in 2006 to advance great writing and to impact communities nationally with our efforts to promote literary readership and advocacy of creative writing workshops and readings offered across the country.

Dzanc Books

Annual Short Story Collection, Fiction Novel, and Nonfiction Collection Prizes.

Dzanc Books Prizes

General call

The Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction  recognizes daring, original, and innovative novels (generally over 40,000 words, but there is no hard minimum). A $5,000 advance and publication by Dzanc Books will be awarded to the winner. Finalists will be compiled in-house and passed along for evaluation to this year’s judges: Alyssa Quinn (Habilis), Alan Michael Parker (Bingo Bango Boingo), and Ruyan Meng, author of One Is Three, which was chosen as the winner of last year’s Prize for Fiction.      The contest is open to new, upcoming, and established writers alike. Agented submissions are also eligible, and we ask that you include all agency contact information with the application. All submitted works must be previously unpublished novel-length manuscripts and should include a brief synopsis, author bio, and contact information. The full work should be formatted as a PDF, Word .doc or .docx file.

Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction

The Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Prize celebrates imaginative and inventive writing in book-length collections (generally over 40,000 words, but there is no hard minimum). Past winners include Suzi Ehtesham-Zadeh (Zan), Nino Cipri, (Homesick), Anne Valente (By Light We Knew Our Names), Chaya Bhuvaneswar (White Dancing Elephants), Jen Grow (My Life as a Mermaid), Julie Stewart (Water and Blood), and David Nikki Crouse (When I Was a Stranger). The winning submission will be awarded a $5,000 advance and publication by Dzanc Books.

Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Competition

The Dzanc Books Poetry Prize recognizes daring, original, and innovative poetry collections (generally over 60 pages, but there is no hard minimum). A $1,500 advance and publication by Dzanc Books will be awarded to the winner.<div></div><div>The contest is open to new, upcoming, and established writers alike. Agented submissions are also eligible, and we ask that you include all agency contact information with the application. All submitted works must be previously unpublished book-length poetry collections and should include a brief synopsis, author bio, and contact information. The full work should be formatted as a PDF, Word .doc or .docx file.</div>

Dzanc Books Poetry Prize

Dzanc House is a home and a hub for regional and national literary and cultural arts programming, and now offers a dedicated residency program, aimed at providing a nurturing space for emerging artists and writers to hone their craft and develop their unique voice. Our residencies are open to writers, poets, translators, artists (working in all mediums), actors, directors, dancers, etc. from all over the world. Residents are invited to stay for anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks, in our house, which can accommodate up to four individuals at a time. The residency offers private rooms equipped with bed, desk, and chair, shared bathrooms, a communal kitchen and dining room, a dedicated studio space for artistic work, access to a Risograph printer after orientation, workshops, public programs such as open mics and readings, and an in-house art gallery with rotating exhibitions. Pricing options include single occupancy private rooms at $450 per week, discounted rates for early career residents at $300 per week, and student rates at $275 per week. Residents can stay for a maximum of 16 consecutive weeks. Submissions open April 1 and close September 1, 2026. For questions, contact residency@dzanchouse.org.

Open to writers, poets, translators, artists (all mediums), actors, directors, dancers, and other creatives worldwide. Discounted rates available for early career residents and students.

Dzanc Books

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Featured Call

Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction