Dzanc Books, a seven-year-old literary nonprofit publisher headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., is starting off the new year by launching a new imprint: DISQUIET. It will be the publisher’s primary imprint for publishing contemporary literature from around the world that has been translated into English. The imprint takes its name from Dzanc’s annual Disquiet International Literary Program, held in Lisbon, Portugal since 2011, which features two weeks of writing workshops, readings, and other literary pursuits for participants.
“The idea behind the writing program in Lisbon is that it got you out of your routine, got you uncomfortable, got you working,” said Dan Wickett, Dzanc executive director and co-publisher. “The imprint is an offshoot of that.” Author and editor Jeff Parker, who has published two books with Dzanc, will be in charge of acquiring and editing titles for the DISQUIET imprint, as well as overseeing their translation into English. Parker is the co-editor of Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia and Amerika: Russian Writers View the United States. He also is co-director of the graduate creative writing program at the University of Toronto.
Two DISQUIET titles are scheduled for release in 2013: European Trash (Sixteen Ways to Remember a Father) by Ulf Peter Hallberg, translated from the Swedish (April) and A True Actor by Jacinto Lucas Pires, translated from the Portugese (Sept.). Sank’ya by Zakhar Prilipen, translated from the Russian, will be published by Dzanc/DISQUIET in February 2014. Each DISQUIET release will include an introduction “by a leading figure” setting the work and its author in context for American readers.
DISQUIET is Dzanc’s fifth imprint and the first imprint the company has launched, rather than partnering with other established presses. Dzanc’s four existing imprints -- Black Lawrence Press, OV Books, Keyhole Press, and Starcherone Books -- have retained their editorial autonomy, while Dzanc coordinates publicity and distribution; it’s an arrangement that Wickett describes as a “kind of independent conglomeration.” Dzanc also funds three literary journals: The Collagist, Monkeybicycle, and Absinthe: New European Writing, a biannual publication, which is collaborating with DISQUIET in producing European Trash. Dwayne Hayes, Absinthe’s editor, will also acquire one or two titles each year and oversee the editing and translation of those titles that he acquires.
Dzanc Books are distributed by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution.
