Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Prize

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 Ethel Rohan (In the Event of Contact). 

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 All submitted works must be previously unpublished collections and should include a brief synopsis, author bio, and contact information. (Individual stories are allowed to have been previously published.)

The winning submission will be awarded a $2,500 advance and publication by Dzanc Books.

Submissions are open from March 1st – midnight Sept 30th. The winning submission and a short list of finalists will be announced on the Dzanc web page in November.

FAQ
If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it’s your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

ProWritingAid
We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives. Visit their website and try ProWritingAid for free.