Dzanc Books is pleased to announce the opening for submissions
to the 2008 Dzanc Prize.
The Dzanc Prize provides monetary aid in the sum of $5,000,
to a writer of literary fiction. All writers applying for the
Dzanc Prize must have a work-in-progress they can submit for
review, and present the judges with a Community Service Program
they can facilitate. Such programs may include anything deemed "educational" in
relation to writing. Examples would include: working with HIV
patients to help them write their stories; doing a series of
workshops at a drop-in youth homeless center; running writing
programs in inner-city schools; or working with older citizens
looking to write their memoirs. All community programs under
the Dzanc Prize must run for a full year.
Last year, Dzanc Books awarded the inaugural Dzanc Prize to
Laura van den Berg. Laura is currently in the middle of a series
of workshops she’s running in the New England prison system.
At the end of Laura's year, an anthology of work by the
prisoners she is teaching will be compiled and published by Dzanc.
Laura's story collection, What the World Will Look Like When
All of the Water is Gone, will also be published by Dzanc
Books in fall 2009.
Eligibility: The author must
be working on literary fiction, and the community service must
occur within the United States of America. All applicants must
demonstrate that they are able to do the community service they
are suggesting, and are not otherwise offering would-be ideas for consideration. Judging
shall give equal weight to the caliber of writing and the Community
Service.
Timing: The Inaugural Dzanc Prize will be issued for the 2009
calendar year. We will accept submissions from authors from now
through November 1, 2008. The announcement of the winning author
will be made during the month of December 2008. The announcement
will be made via email to the author, on the Dzanc website, as
well as sent to trade (P&W, Publisher’s Weekly,
Galleycat, etc.).
Submissions: Authors please send your current cv, a description
of your Work in Progress, along with a ten page excerpt, and
your planned Literary Community Service. These should be sent
as MS Word Attachments in an email to prize@dzancbooks.org.
Dzanc Books will be selecting the author who will receive this
$5,000 Prize based on a combination of the Work in Progress,
and the intended Literary Community Service. It would probably
benefit authors who are submitting to become familiar with Dzanc
Books and the types of authors we publish, as well as the Educational
Programs Dzanc Books sets up and runs.
The winner of the Dzanc Prize will receive a check for $2500
in the month of January 2009. The remaining $2500 will be paid
once the Literary Community Service has been completed.
Dzanc Books will make no claims towards the winner and their
Work in Progress. If at the time the author has completed the
work, they wish to submit it to Dzanc Books, we will be delighted
to have a look. Their manuscript will go through the same reading
process every other submission goes through.
The submissions for the Dzanc Prize will be reviewed by, and
the prize will be awarded by a panel of Steve Gillis, Dan Wickett,
Steven Seighman, and Keith Taylor. All writers, including friends
and associates of the panel, are eligible for the prize. The
integrity and objectivity of Dzanc Books will not be compromised
and, given our vast connections to so many great writers, exclusion
of any kind would be impossible.
Any questions can be submitted to prize@dzancbooks.org.
