The Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction  recognizes daring, original, and innovative novels (generally over 40,000 words, but there is no hard minimum). A $5,000 advance and publication by Dzanc Books will be awarded to the winner. Finalists will be compiled in-house and passed along for evaluation to this year’s judges: Farah Ali (The River, The Town), Chika Unigwe (The Middle Daughter), and Sarah Yahm, author of The Moveables, which was chosen as the winner of last year’s Prize for Fiction.

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 All submitted works must be previously unpublished novel-length manuscripts and should include a brief synopsis, author bio, and contact information. The full work should be formatted as a PDF, Word .doc or .docx file.

We will accept submissions from February 1 through midnight on Sept 30. There is a $25 submission fee. (Note: we will not accept physical entries.) Simultaneous submissions allowed. The winning submission and a short list of finalists will be announced on the Dzanc web page in December.

Dzanc Books is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All contest fees will go toward funding the prize as well as supporting Dzanc’s commitment to producing quality literary works, providing creative writing instruction in public schools through the Dzanc Writers-in-Residence program, and offering low-cost workshops for aspiring authors. Active and former Dzanc authors and employees are not eligible for the prize.