Dzanc Books

Pirate Talk or Mermalade by Terese Svoboda - The Trailer

Pirate Talk or Mermalade is a novel in voices about two brothers who meet a mermaid, fall into pirating, and end up in the Arctic. Henry Hudson said "mermaids are as thick as shrimp in these parts," and it was in the Arctic where fellow explorer (and pirate) Martin Frobisher dropped off part of his crew. To be released just before "Talk Like a Pirate Day."

Dzanc Books Signs Stephen Graham Jones to Two-Book Deal!

Dzanc Books to Publish Stephen Graham Jones

 

July 21, 2010 - Ann Arbor, MI—Dzanc Books is proud to announce that it will publish 2 novels by Stephen Graham Jones.   The first, Flushboy, will be published in early 2013 and will be followed a year later by Not for Nothing.  Stephen is the author of 9 books of fiction, including The Fast Red Road—a Plainsong, All the Beautiful Sinners, The Bird is Gone—a Manifesto, Bleed Into Me—a Book of Stories, Demon Theory, The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti, Ledfeather and the forthcoming novel, It Came from Del Rio, and collection of stories, The Ones that Almost Got Away: Stories.  Stephen has also published over 100 stories in such places as Alaska Quarterly Review, Hobart, and Mississippi Review.

 

Jones’ work has been called “mesmerizing” and “masterful” by Booklist, and Texas Monthly describes him as “an unapologetic pop-culture savant.”  Jones holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Florida State University and teaches at the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

 

Both hilarious and heartbreaking at times, Flushboy is a novel about the 16-year-old boy working the window of the drive-thru urinal of his father’s latest business venture, The Bladder Hut.  It’s a uniquely told coming-of-age story and more.  Not for Nothing, is in theory, a detective story, but as usual, Jones plays with convention and gives his readers much more than they might expect.

 

“Stephen Graham Jones is a fascinating writer,” Dan Wickett said. “One that hasn’t delved into the same territory twice, and these two novels continue on in that vein. We at Dzanc are very excited to publish these two wonderful novels from a writer that continues to constantly find new ways of storytelling.”

 

About Dzanc Books

 

Dzanc Books was created in 2006 to advance great writing and champion those writers who don’t fit neatly into the marketing niches of for-profit presses. As a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, Dzanc Books not only publishes literary fiction, but works in partnership with literary journals to advance their readership at every level. Dzanc is also fully committed to developing educational programs in schools, as well as supporting literary community service projects with its Dzanc Prize program.

 

For more information on Dzanc Books and its mission, imprints, books, authors, awards, and programs, please visit www.dzancbooks.org.

 

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Dzanc Creative Writing Sessions After a Year

It's been a little more than a year since we started the Dzanc Creative Writing Sessions and it has been just as good as we had hoped it would be.  Where else can you find workshop styled help with your poem, story, essay or novel from either a published author or editor at a publishing house, at rates of $20 per hour or lower, that you can participate in from your own home (or wherever you have access to your email account) and can begin a new session at ANY time?  Nowhere.

Here are some things that happy customers said upon finishing up their session(s):

"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 (regarding mentoring author, Katrina Denza)

"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

"Thanks so much! Ah, these comments from Laura van den Berg are just what I needed. I can't wait to use this service again for another story."
—Kassie Duthie

"I was very impressed with DCWS services and would use them in the future."
—Kim Johnson

"Thank you so much. I'm thrilled with my DCWS experience, and the level of thought and critique I received from Gabriel. Tremendously helpful, I will definitely do this again. Thank you to you & Dzanc & Gabriel!"

—Marie Gauthier (after working with Gabriel Welsch)

"I give this program all the credit for my having short stories finally accepted by lit mags. Best deal on the planet. Go for it."

--Jon R. Horton (via Facebook)

"Many thanks for sending this along.  These comments are very helpful!  Please let George know how much I appreciate his help -- what he gave me here is more than worth my $50!"

Matthew L

"This is great, Dan. It's exactly what I wanted. Matt really did a fantastic job of pointing out the story's weaknesses and also ways to fix them. The detailed feedback is invaluable to me. I'll probably start sending ALL my stories to DCWS, since this is the only way for me to get unbiased feedback right now."

Yvette W.

Dzanc Title Short Listed for Frank O'Connor Short Fiction Award!

Dzanc Books is extremely pleased to announce that Laura van den Berg's short story collection, What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us (Dzanc Books, 2009), has been selected as a finalist for the Frank O'Connor Short Fiction Award.   Announced earlier today, Laura's book is one of six collections that the committee has winnowed down from the original semi-finalist long list of 58 titles. The Frank O'Connor Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the world as it is open internationally and receives submissions from publishers all over the world, is awarded to the best, original collection of stories published in English in the 12 preceding months.  This year's finalists range from debut authors on up to TC Boyle, who has published 20 works of fiction, including 9 short story collections.     Dzanc Books is thrilled to have Laura's work among the finalists.  Since Laura first won the Dzanc Prize in 2008, proving not only her skills as a writer but dedication to social service, her collection has gone on to receive a starred Booklist review, as well as be selected also as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great Writers and a Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Finalist.  Stories from  the collection have also been reprinted in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008, Best New American Voices 2010, and The Pushcart Prize XXIV: Best of the Small Presses.   Laura is a well deserving finalist and we here at Dzanc Books could not be prouder to have published What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us.       For more information about Laura's collection:   http://www.dzancbooks.org/store/vandenberg-water.html   For more information about Laura van den Berg:   www.lauravandenberg.com   For more information about Dzanc Books:   www.dzancbooks.org   For more information about the Frank O'Connor Short Fiction Award:   http://www.munsterlit.ie/FOC%20Award%20page.html

You Buy and We'll Donate

In response to Tin House's new submission policy, we at Dzanc Books are motivated to reply with what we hope is an alternative solution to one of the issues Tin House seems to be raising; to wit the decline of books being purchased - and purchased at independent bookstores. Rather than tie our concerns to the submissions we receive at Dzanc - and our lit reviews and imprints:  The Collagist, Monkeybicycle and Absinthe, OV Books, Black Lawrence Press, Keyhole and Starcherone - we would like to make the following offer which we feel will better serve the desire to support independent bookstores and the purchase of books. For the month of July, we at Dzanc will donate a book to a school/library for each proof of purchase provided to us of a book bought at an independent bookstore. The book bought should be a work of literary fiction, though does not have to be a book published by Dzanc Books or any of our imprints. Simply send a copy of your receipt to the address below and Dzanc will donate a new book to a library/school of your choosing.

Steven Gillis
Dzanc Books
2702 Lillian
Ann Arbor, MI 48104