2024 Contests are Open!

It’s that time of year: Dzanc’s annual contests are open! Now through September 30th, send us your mold-breaking, gut-punching, mind-bending novels and short story and poetry collections. The winner of each contest receives an advance and publication through the press, slated for spring 2026.

The Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction recognizes daring, original, and innovative novels. The judges of this year’s prize for fiction are three of Dzanc’s celebrated authors: Alan Michael Parker (Christmas in July, The Committee on Town Happiness), Chika Unigwe (The Middle Daughter) and Sarah Yahm (The Moveables, winner of the 2023 prize for fiction). The winner of this prize receives a $5,000 advance and publication by the press.

The Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Prize celebrates imaginative and inventive writing in book-length collections. Past winners include Suzi Ehteshem-Zadeh (Zan), Nino Cipri (Homesick), Chaya Bhuvaneswar (White Dancing Elephants), Julie Stewart (Water and Blood), and Ethel Rohan (In the Event of Contact). The short story collection prize is judged in house, and the winner will receive a $2,500 advance and publication by the press.

The Dzanc Books Poetry Prize, run for the first time in a decade, recognizes daring, original, and inventive writing in book-length collections. The winning submission will be awarded a $1,000 advance and publication by the press. This year’s judges are Keith Taylor (All the Time You Want) and Jonathan Fink (The Crossing, Barbarossa).

Check out our submissions page to find more information about manuscript qualifications the application process.

To submit to the prize for fiction, please fill out our Prize for Fiction submission form.

To submit to the short story collection prize, please fill out our Short Story Collection Prize submission form.

And to submit to the poetry prize, complete our Poetry Prize submission form.

Any questions, please email info@dzancbooks.org.