Dzanc Books

Short Story Month Essay Collection

This past May's celebration of the short story produced an extraordinary number of great articles, blog posts and reviews in support of Short Story Month.   We at Dzanc thought what a wonderful resource it would be to compile some of these essays into one publication.   In partnering with Matt Bell of www.mdbell.com, Aaron Burch of Hobart, Steven McDermott of Storyglossia, and our own Dan Wickett at Emerging Writers Network, Dzanc has put together a collection of no less than 160 essays, covering over 320 pages, into one book.  Each essay explores a specific story and/or collection by authors both heralded and overlooked, all deserving of a first - or second, or twelfth - read. As we are all readers and lovers of great writing, the chance to have a compilation of essays that champion some of the great stories and story collections of our time, provides an invaluable tool to turn to when  wondering what to read next.   Dzanc Books - as part of its mission as a nonprofit 501(c)3 press dedicated to bringing literature and lit programs to a wider audience -  will mail you a copy of these Short Story Month Essays for a minor tax deductible donation.  On top of publishing great works of literary fiction, Dzanc Books provides workshops for students in the public schools free of charge.   Our Dzanc Writers In Residency Programs matches writers with students whose schools do not otherwise provide students the opportunity to explore their own creative voices.  Dzanc covers all expenses for these programs, which run several thousand dollars each.  All monies donated to Dzanc for the purchase of our Short Story Month Essays will go 100% to our charitable programs which Dzanc conducts nationwide.   A ten dollar donation will cover our costs (printing and shipping) on our SSME and, understanding these harsh economic times, we wont appeal to you for anything beyond which you can afford.  We believe these essays provide insights and recommendation for books and authors which can be turned to again and again.  Dan and I thank you in advance.  To get your own copy, please visit our support page at http://www.dzancbooks.org/support and make a tax deductible donation of ten dollars or more.  Please email Dan at info@dzancbooks.org if you have any questions. Sincerely, Steve Gillis Dan Wickett Dzanc Books www.dzancbooks.org

A Note From Ben Percy If you fell from the sky and landed on any street corner in this country, you would not know where you were, lost in the concrete maze of Taco Johns, Burger Kings, Best Buys, K-Marts, Wal-Marts. Sometimes I feel similarly adrift and headachey when wandering a chain bookstore, where the same two dozen authors stare out at me from slick dust jackets, where short story collections are difficult if not impossible to find, where novels are weighed down with codes and techno-jargon and brand-name clothes and throbbing euphemisms, where literature sometimes feels as substantial as a Big Mac and fries. Which is why Dzanc comes as a welcome shot of adrenaline to the heart. It is a publishing venture that transcends the bottom-line, that trumpets what the big houses have crassly elbowed aside, that reminds us reading is more than entertainment, that books are more than commodities. Their standard is bad-ass literary excellence, no matter if it can't be tidily packaged or pitched by some agent at a cocktail party where everybody wears black and none of the cheese is yellow. If you look at their line-up of emerging and established rock stars -Yannick Murphy, Terese Svoboda , Kyle Minor, Roy Kesey, Laura van den Berg, and Michael Czyzniejewski, to name a few-it's quite clear that Dzanc is a force. But they're also visionary-with their Best of the Web anthologies-and goodhearted-with their affordable online workshops, their writer-in-residence program, and their prize for literary excellence and community service-not to mention many-tentacled-with their imprints (OV Books, Black Lawrence Press, Monkeybicycle), their new online magazine The Collagist, and of course the Emerging Writers' Network (where the magic began). Folks, we're talking about a homegrown wonder, something to applaud, a bit of a miracle. I'm not at all surprised, but I'm heartened, that Publishers Weekly called Dzanc the future of publishing; the industry should be so lucky. Join me in supporting them. Or else.   Sincerely, Benjamin Percy

The Collagist

Dzanc Books is pleased to announce its newest venture: an online journal called The Collagist. Intent on continuing the Dzanc tradition of bringing extraordinary writing to a wide audience, the first issue of The Collagist will be published on August 15th, 2009, and appear subsequently each month thereafter at www.thecollagist.com.

The Collagist is edited by Matt Bell, with Matthew Olzmann as Poetry Editor. Each month The Collagist will deliver outstanding new short stories, poems, and essays from both emerging and established writers, as well as an exclusive excerpt from a forthcoming novel. Early excerpts will include works from the standard bearers of independent publishing, including Coffee House, Two Dollar Radio, and Unbridled Books. The Collagist will also publish several new book reviews in every issue.

The Collagist is immediately open for submissions in all categories. As you might assume, we suggest you read the books Dzanc and its imprints publish to get a flavor of what writing gets us most excited. Submissions guidelines can be found at www.thecollagist.com/submissions.html.

We thank you in advance for your submissions and your readership, and look forward to sharing this exciting new project with you when our first issue launches in August.

Sincerely,

Steve Gillis
Dan Wickett
Matt Bell
Dzanc Books

The Collagist Submissions

Fiction:

The Collagist will include four short stories in each monthly issue. We will consider all lengths of short fiction, from flash through novella. Send to fiction@thecollagist.com and list “The Collagist - Fiction submission” in the subject line.

Poetry:

The Collagist will include work from four poets in each monthly issue, publishing between 1 and 3 poems per poet. We will consider all types of poetry. Send to poetry@thecollagist.com and list “The Collagist - Poetry submission” in the subject line.

Non-Fiction:

The Collagist will include between one and three essays in each monthly issue, ranging from personal and political essays, to literary criticism. Send to nonfiction@thecollagist.com and list “The Collagist - Non-fiction submission” in the subject line.

Book Reviews:

The Collagist will include two or three book reviews in each monthly issue. We will arrange for these in advance. If you would like to become a book reviewer for The Collagist, please email Dan Wickett at dan@dzancbooks.org. Include in your email two or three of your past reviews, and if there are any specific books you'd like to review, please include those titles as well.

Novel Excerpts:

The Collagist will include one novel excerpt per issue. This will be from a novel due to be published within the next three months. The Collagist will be working with numerous publishers well ahead of time on these. If a publisher would like to suggest a particular title they are publishing, please email Dan Wickett at dan@dzancbooks.org to do so. Please try to do so between six and nine months prior to the book's publication date to have it have a chance of working into our schedule.

DCWS - A Reminder and Some Great Feedback

Dzanc Books is pleased to share some of the feedback we've been receiving regarding the Dzanc Creative Writing Sessions.  



This letter is designed to remind you of our program and invite you to sign up for, or let others know of, what we believe is one of the most innovative online writing workshops being offered today.  If you've got a website, literary journal, literary blog, or any other means of spreading information along, we'd greatly appreciate your sharing the news of this program. 

Since announcing the program less than three months ago, we've provided mentoring help for nearly 100 writers - here is what some of them had to say afterward:

"I can't say enough about how valuable this process has been for me -- and will continue to be as I digest her comments and revise my story.  Her insight, encouragement and suggestions are just what I needed.

I will definitely participate in this program again in the future!  Thanks so much for the opportunity."
 
-- Jennifer Hollmeyer

"I am so glad you guys have this, I cannot tell you how pleased I am."

-- James Moore

"I found the experience quite wonderful."
 
-- Caitlin Hamilton

"Thank you so much for your time and for your words of encouragement.  And thanks especially for being so straight with me -- this is exactly the kind of tough coaching I need."

-- Michael Mussman

"Thanks so much for the in-depth critique . . . Also, I'm applying your no-holds barred editorial style to many of my other stories.  I appreciate your time and insights."

-- John Fox

I wanted to let you and Michele Battiste know that your program through her guidance has been extremely useful for me. I had gotten to a point in my project at which I felt stuck, and I don't have an effective writers group here in Japan to help me. Michele's comments and critique reminded me of some long-standing tendencies that I had forgotten I need to avoid, and she also made some insightful points which were new ideas for me. Best of all, I am reinvigorated and working hard on the project again. Thank you so much for that.

-- Jessica Goodfellow

Another student of the sessions wrote up a really nice review over at HTML Giant.

As a reminder, the DCWS is founded on the principle that many authors' lifestyles do not afford them the opportunity to obtain feedback on their writing - be it where they live, their work schedule, or finances.  We feel that all authors deserve the opportunity to have their work reviewed.  Unlike most of the current workshop opportunities - MFA programs, Low-Residency programs, colonies, online classes, etc. - the DCWS is unique in that it allows the writer to determine the parameters for their own review sessions.  With the DCWS, you sign up for what you want and need, not some pre-determined program.  

The DCWS is set up to provide a one-to-one working relationship with a published author, allowing you the benefits of their experience, in many cases both writing and teaching.  Nearly 100 great authors have already agreed to volunteer their services as mentors in our DCWS program.  The names you'll find in our database include award winning authors and teachers such as:  George Singleton, Myfanwy Collins, Dawn Raffel, Peter Markus, Leora Skolkin-Smith, Katrina Denza, Laura van den Berg, Kevin Wilson, Nancy Cherry, Jeff Parker and Mike Czyzniejewski. From this list, writers paying to participate in the DCWS may select an available author to work with. Participating writers will then have their work critiqued and can discuss in detail their writing and any other areas of writing in general they wish to explore with their DCWS author.  

The DCWS will utilize email to reduce the difficulties writers such as yourself have when looking to find feedback on your work.  Our workshops  remove the limitations of both time and distance as you'll send your work and questions to your mentor when and where you have access to the internet.  Each participant will determine how many hours of mentoring they need, as well as how to progress - you asking specific questions about your work, or you asking for your manuscript to be edited (10 pages per hour), or simply looking for a back and forth conversation about your work after the mentor you select has read the work.  

The program is being offered at an extremely low rate - many of the instructing authors volunteering their time to Dzanc do similar work as freelancers and charge much greater rates than are being offered here through the DCWS.  Other workshops and writing programs charge a lump sum of several hundred dollars up front.  Not only does the DCWS allow you to control and target your expenses, but 100% of the money brought in by Dzanc by our DCWS goes to supporting the writing programs we run for students grades 4-12.  These additional programs - currently being run nationally by Dzanc - are offered free of charge to students who would not otherwise be able to afford and experience these sort of writing programs.

The DCWS sessions are set up in hourly blocks and can be ordered as follows:

1 hour   - $20
2 hours - $30
4 hours - $50

The DCWS eliminates your need to travel to a university.  It also eliminates your need to lay out a few hundred dollars up front for an 8 or 10 week online course.  It allows you to jump in and out when you are available, and also allows you to select from the list of authors that have generously volunteered their time to this project.  A full list is available at our website.  This list includes published novelists, short story writers, flash fiction writers, poets and non-fiction writers. If you don't feel the need to select a specific author, we'll simply assign a writer to you.  

For more information on our Creative Writing Sessions program, please send an email to info@dzancbooks.org.

In order to sign up now, head over to visiting the DCWS page at our website http://www.dzancbooks.org/creative.html and select your author.  After deciding how many hours to work with your mentor, click on the Paypal button that corresponds to that number, and fill in the mentor name in the appropriate field and we'll get you started.   

Sincerely,

Steven Gillis
Dan Wickett
Dzanc Books
www.dzancbooks.org