General Submissions
Dzanc Books is looking for literary fiction that takes chances and does so with great writing. We do not mind books that do not fill a marketing niche. We are looking for absolutely fantastic works to fill those slots. It really is all about the writing to us.
If you believe you have a novel that meets what we are looking for, please feel free to submit a portion of your manuscript to us.
1) If submitting a novel (please no young adult fiction), or literary nonfiction, please submit the first one or two chapters (no more than 35 pages) using our submission manager.
2) If submitting a story collection, please see the Short Story Collection contest guidelines below.
3) Please note that due to an increased number of incoming manuscripts, it might take up to five or six months to respond.
Thank you for your interest in publishing with Dzanc Books.
The Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Competition
Congratulations to Jason Ockert, whose manuscript, Neighbors of Nothing, has been selected as the winner of the 2010 Award, joining previous winners David Galef and Luis Jaramillo.
Dzanc is currently holding its fourth annual contest for all authors wishing to submit a short story collection to Dzanc Books. The winning author will be published by Dzanc in late 2014, and will receive a $1000 advance.
The contest deadline is December 31, 2011. The deadline has passed and so no further entries are being accepted. The winner will be announced in the first two weeks of April. All those that submitted will be apprised of the winner by email before the announcement is made public.
Please Note: By submitting to Dzanc Books, you are also being added to our email list from which we send out information about upcoming books, events and programs. We will never give out your e-mail to anyone else. Thank you.
The Dzanc Novel Contest for Mid-Career Writers
In an effort to further support writers in mid-career, Dzanc Books announces the launch of our Dzanc Novel Contest designed to advance the publishing career of an established author. While at times it seems the publishing industry is only interested in the next big thing, we at Dzanc recognize the value of experienced writers who have gone through the process of creating and publishing two or more books. Mid-career writers are the backbone of our industry yet often these writers are overlooked and have a harder time finding a publisher than first time writers. In response, we at Dzanc have created this prize to honor those writers who have stayed the course and learned a thing or three over the years.
We are looking specifically for a writer with at least two full-length previously published books, either novels, short story collections, and/or non-fiction.
- Entry to our novel prize involves sending a copy of your full manuscript, a cover letter detailing your previously published full-length books, as well as a $20 entry fee.
- Entries by writers who have not yet published at least two full-length books will not be considered.
- The deadline is February 1, 2012. THE DEADLINE HAS PASSED AND WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS.
- Every person that submits will receive a complimentary eBook from Dzanc (selected from one of the titles that has been a monthly selection in our eBooks Club) within 24 hours of submitting their manuscript.
There will be a winner selected, guaranteed, and this book will receive our standard publishing contract to be published both in print and as an eBook in July 2013, including a $1000 advance and promotional efforts such as arranging a book tour.
To submit, first pay your $20 entry fee using the paypal button below, then send your cover letter and full manuscript (in .DOC, .DOCX, or .RTF format) to novelcontest@dzancbooks.org. (Entries received without an entry fee or a cover letter containing details of your previous books cannot be considered.)
Email submissions are strongly preferred, but if you need to submit by postal mail, please send all of the above (plus a check for $20 made out to Dzanc Books) to Steven Gillis, at 5220 Dexter, Ann Arbor, MI 48103.