The Dana Award is a literary award presented in

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

. It was founded in 1996 by literature professor and poet Mary Elizabeth Parker with the financial backing of Michael Dana.''Poets & Writers'', September/October 2000 The competition is based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The judges for the competition include Scottish novelist

Margot Livesey Margot Livesey (born 1953) is a Scottish-born writer. She is the author of nine novels, a collection of short stories, a collection of essays on writing and the co-author, with Lynn Klamkin, of a textbook. Among other awards, she has earned a G ...

. Notable recipients include

Michael Pritchett Michael Pritchett is an American author best known for his novel ''The Melancholy Fate of Capt. Lewis''. Pritchett teaches at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri and holds a Masters of Fine A ...

Danielle Trussoni Danielle Anne Trussoni is a ''New York Times'', ''USA Today'', and '' Sunday Times'' Top 10 bestselling novelist. She has been a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction jurist, and writes the "Dark Matters" column for the '' New York Times Book Review''. She ...

Tina Chang Tina Chang is an American poet, professor, editor, organizer, and public speaker. In 2010, she was named Poet Laureate of Brooklyn. Early life Chang was born in 1969 in Oklahoma to Taiwanese immigrants, who had met in Montreal, where her mother ...

, Paul Graham and

Stephen Lovely Stephen Lovely (born 1966, Dallas, Texas) is an American novelist and educator. He attended Kenyon College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he studied with Deborah Eisenberg, Margot Livesey, Ethan Canin, and Frank Conroy. His first novel, ''I ...

Past winners

Novel

* 1996 –

Ellen B. Coggeshall Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: *Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress *Ellen ...

for ''The Rabies Tree'' * 1997 –

Jennifer Natalya Fink Jennifer Natalya Fink is an American author working in experimental feminist and queer fiction. She is best known for her novels ''Burn'', ''V,'' and ''The Mikvah Queen,'' which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 2010. Her novel, ''Bhopal D ...

for ''The Mikveh Queen'' * 1998 – Owen Goodwyne * 1999 – Joette Hayashigawa * 2000 –

for ''The Final Effort of the Archer'' * 2001 –

for ''Tunnel Rat'' * 2002 – B. K. Loren for ''Thicker Than Water'' * 2003 – Tatjana Soli for ''The Lotus Eaters'' * 2004 –

for ''Irreplaceable'' * 2005 – Paul Graham for ''A Trained Voice'' * 2006 –

Harvey Grossinger Harvey Grossinger is an American short story author and novelist. Life He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from New York University, a Master of Arts from Indiana University, and a Master of Fine Arts from American University. He teaches at ...

for ''The Caretaker’s Niece'' * 2007 –

Thad Nodine Thad is a masculine given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Thaddeus. It may refer to: * Thad Allen (born 1949), United States Coast Guard admiral * Thad Altman (born 1955), American politician * Thad Balkman (born 1971), American politician ...

for ''Going Home'' * 2008 – Rebecca Berg for ''Julio's Ghost'' * 2009 –

Tippets Jensen Tippets is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dennis Tippets (born 1938), American politician *John Tippets John H. Tippets (born January 16, 1952) is an American politician who served as a member of the Idaho Senate for t ...

for ''The Good Deed'' * 2010 – Patrick E. Horrigan for ''Portraits at an Exhibition'' * 2011 –

Sean Murphy Sean Murphy may refer to: Sports * Seán Óg Murphy (1897–1956), Irish hurler * Seán Murphy (hurler) (born 1947), Irish hurler * Seán Murphy (Gaelic footballer) (born 1932), Irish Gaelic football player * Sean Murphy (footballer, born 1995), Sc ...

for ''Wilson's Way'' * 2012 –

Scott Lambridis Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...

for ''The Many Raymond Days'' * 2013 – N.S. Keonings for ''Goatsong'' * 2014 – Boman Desai for ''The Elephant Graveyard'' * 2015 – Nancy Swan for ''Escalante Moon'' * 2016 �
Misha Rai
for ''Blood We Did Not Spill''

Short fiction

* 1999 –

Jacob M. Appel Jacob M. Appel (born February 21, 1973) is an American author, poet, bioethicist, physician, lawyer and social critic.Nagamatsu, Sequoia "A Few Words with the Ubiquitous Jacob M. Appel" ''Prince Mincer'' Journal http://primemincer.com/ confirmed ...

* 2000 – Robert C. Goodwin * 2001 –

Laren Stover Laren Stover is an American writer. She is the author of ''Pluto, Animal Lover'' (HarperCollins), ''The Bombshell Manual of Style'' illustrated by Ruben Toledo (Hyperion, 2001) and ''Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge'' (Bulfi ...

* 2003 – Alma Garcia * 2004 – Glori Simmons * 2005 –

Catherine Gentile Catherine Gentile is an American short story writer. Life She is a native of Hartford, Connecticut. She graduated from Saint Joseph College (Connecticut) with a master's degree. After a career in special education/mental health, she turned to w ...

* 2006 –

Paula W. Peterson Paula W. Peterson is an American short story writer. Life She graduated from Brandeis University and from the University of Michigan with an M.A. in English Literature. Her short fiction has appeared in ''Carolina Quarterly'', ''Greensboro Revie ...

* 2007 –

Deanne Lundin Deanne Lundin is an American poet, and short story writer. Life She was born and raised in Florida and has lived in Oklahoma, Boston, California, England and Wales. She graduated from Harvard University, and University of Michigan in 1997 with an ...

* 2008 –

Patricia Brieschke Patricia A. Brieschke is an American short story writer. Life She graduated from Northeastern Illinois University, Alfred Adler Institute with an MA, in 1979, and from University of Illinois at Chicago with a Ph.D., in 1983. She teaches at Hof ...

* 2009 – Matthew Pitt * 2010 – Nicole Louise Reid * 2011 – Rebecca Givens Rolland * 2012 – Paul Hastings * 2013 – Skye Anicca * 2014 – BD Feil * 2015 – Brenda Peynado * 2016 – Allison Alsup

Poetry

* 1996 –

* 1997 –

Sandra Stone Sandra Stone (April 4, 1934 – February 27, 2018) was an Oregon-based visual and conceptual artist as well as a poet, playwright and author of literary fiction and nonfiction. Life Sandra Stone was born Alessandria Stone on April 4, 1934, in P ...

* 1999 – Catherine M. Stearns * 2000 –

K.E. Allen K. E. Allen is an American poet. Life K.E. Allen (Kelly Allen) received her B.A. in English from Seattle University and M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. Her work has appeared in ''Arts & Letters'', ''Center'', '' Kenyo ...

* 2001 – Ronald G. Wardall * 2002 – Laura Gray-Street * 2003 –

Simeon Berry Simeon Berry (born 1973 in Guilford, Connecticut) is a poet who authored the prize-winning collections ''Ampersand Revisited'' and ''Monograph''. His poetry has been published widely in literary journals, including ''AGNI'', ''Antioch Review'', '' ...

* 2004 –

Evan Oakley Evan Benjamin Oakley is an American poet. Life He graduated from George Mason University with an MFA, the University of Northern Colorado, and Colorado State University. He teaches at Aims College in Greeley, Colorado. His work has appeared in ...

* 2005 – Sam Witt * 2006 –

Camille Dungy Camille T. Dungy (born 1972) is an American poet and professor. Career Born in Denver, Colorado, Dungy graduated from Stanford University (BA) and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, where she earned her MFA. She is the author of four ...

* 2007 –

* 2008 – Allen Braden * 2009 –

Jeanne Marie Beaumont Jeanne Marie Beaumont is an American poet, author of four poetry collections, most recently, "Letters from Limbo" (CavanKerry Press, 2016), and ''Burning of the Three Fires'' (BOA Editions, Ltd. 2010), ''Curious Conduct'' ( BOA Editions, Ltd., 200 ...

* 2010 – Julie Weber * 2011 – Jeannie Gambill * 2012 – Tom Daley * 2013 – Brandi George * 2014 – John Blair * 2015 – Rachel Dilworth * 2016 – Mark Wagenaar

Essay

* 2011 – Peter Selgin

Notes