Matt Bell

From the e-mail that went out this morning:

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