Dzanc Day: April 9, 2011

As we hope you know by now, Dzanc Books is an independent publisher which emphasizes its responsibility to the community by, in part, bringing free national writing programs to school disctricts which might not otherwise be able to provide such programs to its students.  As a nonprofit organization, Dzanc takes great pride in making sure its mission includes not only the publishing of great works of fiction but also works hard to place itself directly into the national landscape as a provider of educational writing programs and workshops. For a closer look at the history and accomplishments of Dzanc Books, as well as our future goals, please feel free to peruse our website or to refer to some of the excellent press we have recently received, including an interview between writer and educator Jeremiah Chamberlin and Dzanc co-founders Steven Gillis and Dan Wickett, published this fall in Poets & Writers.

Of course, none of these charitable programs would be possible without the help of others, and without the success of our various fund-raising efforts. This is why, on Saturday, April 9, 2011, Dzanc Books will hold its second annual National Workshop Day, an event better known as Dzanc Day. Consisting of dozens of creative writing workshops in almost as many cities, Dzanc Day provides local, affordable two-to-four hour sessions led by professional writers, authors, and editors, all open to attendance by the public for a very affordable fee. Sessions are conducted in fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, and information about individual locations and session descriptions can be found by browsing either the map or the list of states found at http://www.dzancbooks.org/dzanc-day-2011/.

In addition to being a great way for participants to receive instruction, get inspired, and meet other local writers, 100% of the proceeds from Dzanc Day will go to fund our many charitable endeavors, including the previously mentioned Dzanc Prize, which recognizes one writer annually for both literary excellence and service to his or her community, and our Writer in Residence Program, which places professional writers into classrooms to provide creative writing instructions to public school students who could not otherwise afford the opportunity. It is thanks to our workshop leaders' generous donations of their time and talents that we're able to continue to support and grow these programs, and your signing up for Dzanc Day will ensure their success in the future.

This year, Dzanc Day falls on Saturday, April 9, 2011, and we hope you’ll consider joining one of our many workshops across the country. Workshops start at just $30 for two hours of instruction, a rate dramatically lower than many of our volunteers would normally charge.

Please browse the map to find a workshop close to you, and be sure to sign up as soon as possible, as space may be limited in some locations. We look forward to having you in our workshops, and to hopefully one day reading the great story or poem or essay you worked on during your session. Good luck, and have a great time!

If you don't see a workshop in your area, please check back soon, as more are still being added. If you are interested in volunteering to lead a workshop, or if you have any questions, please feel to email event organizer Matt Bell at matt@dzancbooks.org.