The Dana Award is a literary award presented in

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and

novels A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of '' ...

. It was founded in 1996 by literature professor and poet

Mary Elizabeth Parker Mary Elizabeth Parker (b. Schenectady, New York) is an American poet. She is best known for her collection, ''The Sex Girl'' (Urthona Press), which won the Urthona Poetry Prize in 1999. Her poetry has been widely anthologized in such journals as ...

with the financial backing of Michael Dana.''Poets & Writers'', September/October 2000 The competition is based in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

. The judges for the competition include Scottish novelist Margot Livesey. Notable recipients include Michael Pritchett,

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 wrote the "Dark Matters" column for the ''New York Times Book Review'' for five ...

, Tina Chang, and Stephen Lovely.

Past winners

Novel

* 1996 – Ellen B. Coggeshall 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 Dan ...

for ''The Mikveh Queen'' * 1998 –

Owen Goodwyne Owen may refer to: People and fictional characters * Owen (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Places United States * Owen, Missouri, a ghost town * Owen, Wisconsin * Owen County, Indiana ...

* 1999 – Joette Hayashigawa * 2000 – Michael Pritchett for ''The Final Effort of the Archer'' * 2001 –

for ''Tunnel Rat'' * 2002 – BK Loren for ''Thicker Than Water'' * 2003 – Tatjana Soli for ''The Lotus Eaters'' * 2004 – Stephen Lovely for ''Irreplaceable'' * 2005 – Paul Graham for ''A Trained Voice'' * 2006 – Harvey Grossinger 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 politicia ...

for ''Going Home'' * 2008 – Rebecca Berg for ''Julio's Ghost'' * 2009 – Tippets Jensen for ''The Good Deed'' * 2010 – Patrick E. Horrigan for ''Portraits at an Exhibition'' * 2011 – Sean Murphy for ''Wilson's Way'' * 2012 – Scott Lambridis 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 polymath, author, bioethicist, physician, lawyer, and social critic.Nagamatsu, Sequoia "A Few Words with the Ubiquitous Jacob M. Appel" ''Prince Mincer'' Journal http://primemincer.com/ con ...

* 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'' (Bulf ...

* 2003 –

Alma Garcia Alma García (born 1970) is an American novelist and short story writer. University of Arizona Press published her debut novel, ''All That Rises,'' on October 17, 2023. Alma García grew up in El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. She gra ...

* 2004 – Glori Simmons * 2005 – Catherine Gentile * 2006 – Paula W. Peterson * 2007 – Deanne Lundin * 2008 – Patricia Brieschke * 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 – Tina Chang * 1997 – Sandra Stone * 1999 – Catherine M. Stearns * 2000 – K.E. Allen * 2001 – Ronald G. Wardall * 2002 –

Laura-Gray Street Laura-Gray Street is an American poet. Life She graduated from Hollins University. She holds an M.A. from University of Virginia, and an M.F.A. from Warren Wilson College. She was assistant professor at Randolph College, and serves on the board ...

* 2003 – Simeon Berry * 2004 – Evan Oakley * 2005 –

Sam Witt Sam Witt (born 1970) is an American poet and tenured English professor who currently lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. Life Witt was born in Wimbledon, England in 1970. He studied as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia and went on t ...

* 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 – Sandra Stone * 2008 – Allen Braden * 2009 – Jeanne Marie Beaumont * 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