Dzanc Books Reissues Three Novels by Matt Briggs new e‑book editions
Seattle novelist Matt Briggs has long been one of the Pacific Northwest’s most distinctive voices. In early 2025 Dzanc Books, a non‑profit press dedicated to unconventional, rule‑breaking fiction, brought three of his early works back into circulation with a set of new e‑books. On April 1st, 2025 the press released The Remains of River Names, Shoot the Buffalo, and The Strongman as e‑books with cover art by Detroit‑based visual artist Nicole Miazgowicz, allowing readers to discover Briggs’ blend of dark humor, memory and the uncanny on their favorite reading device.
Dzanc Books is a home to independent literature
Dzanc Books was founded in 2006 by Steve Gillis and Dan Wickett to publish daring work whether or not it was commercial. Publisher Michelle Dotter explains that the press remains committed to “put unconventional, no‑holds‑barred, rule‑breaking work into the world” and to support authors and the broader literary community. As a non‑profit press, Dzanc’s independence allows it to publish books that match its ideals and challenge assumptions. The press has grown into a hub of experimental literature, earning recognition such as the 2023 AWP Small Press Award and expanding into mentorship programs and new imprints. By bringing Briggs’ early novels back into print, Dzanc continues its mission of championing writers whose work might otherwise fall out of print.
Nicole Miazgowicz’s atmospheric cover art
The 2025 e‑book editions feature covers by Nicole Miazgowicz, a visual artist and illustrator based in Detroit. Miazgowicz draws inspiration from her theatre background, the natural world, travel, symbology and memories. She strives to create “softness and beauty in the gloomy and nostalgic” and uses storytelling and exploration to connect contrasting themes in her work. In addition to teaching at the College for Creative Studies, she has illustrated covers for Dzanc Books and other clients. She has been recognized with a Gold Award in Advertising from the Society of Illustrators LA and an Award of Excellence in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual in 2025.
Miazgowicz’s covers for Briggs’ novels echo her signature style. Each design uses a limited palette and central symbolic image – a forgotten Tonka trunk for The Remains of River Names, moths dancing over the freezing sword ferns in Shoot the Buffalo, and a lone fir tree against a desert landscape for The Strongman.
The Remains of River Names
Briggs’ debut novel won the King County Arts Commission Publication Prize in 1998. The story begins when Artie and Janice Graham—former hippies living in rural Washington—abandon their two young sons as the police close in on their marijuana farm. Over the fifteen‑year span of the narrative, the neglected children grow up to be selfish and antisocial, committing crimes and drifting through life until the youngest son, Dillon, attempts to salvage his relationships and find redemption. The novel contrasts abstract ideals with the concrete names of rivers and mountains, noting that words like sacrifice or hallow are “barren beside the concrete names of rivers and mountains like Snoqualmie, Snohomish”. Faulknerian in tone and structure, the book demonstrates that life gains meaning when one is willing to “give of oneself.”
Shoot the Buffalo
Just under a decade after his debut, Briggs produced Shoot the Buffalo, which won the American Book Award in 2006 and was nominated for the Washington State Book Award. The novel follows Aldous Bohm, whose hippie parents move their family to the woods near Snoqualmie in an attempt to reinvent the American family. However, this utopian experiment ends in tragedy. The narrative is described as “sweeping in scope yet unerringly precise” and connects the dead‑end narrative of American masculinity with its stubborn twin—the Romantic ideal of nature—to suggest an ambivalent path forward. Critics note that no long‑form work since Ken Kesey has so closely scrutinized west‑coast utopian outsider traditions.
Strongman
Briggs’ third novel, The Strongman, shifts from the forests of Washington to the sands of the Gulf War. Ben Wallace, an Army Reservist and lab technician, initially joined the military as a rebellious act against his draft‑dodging father. When he is called to duty during Operation Desert Shield, he longs to experience what his grandfather calls “The Enlightenment of War” even though modern warfare isolates soldiers from discomfort with hi‑tech uniforms, gourmet rations and frequent phone calls home. Wallace becomes entangled in schemes with profiteering sergeant Philip Mice, who trades in contraband and comfort items. After the hospital unit reaches Saudi Arabia, Wallace finally gets transferred to a field hospital near the front lines and confronts the aftermath of battle on the highway to Basra. Facing the ruined remains of retreating Iraqi soldiers, he realizes that war’s promised enlightenment comes at a high cost.
Available for the first time as ebooks
Matt Briggs’ novels capture a Pacific Northwest rarely seen in literature. They depict families living on the margins and young men searching for meaning in war and wilderness. Bringing these books back into circulation ensures that readers can access important voices from the early twenty‑first century. Dzanc Books’ decision to release them as e‑books, paired with Nicole Miazgowicz’s striking covers, gives the works fresh visibility and invites new conversation.
Support independent publishing: Purchasing these e‑books directly from Dzanc Books or its partner retailers helps sustain a non‑profit press committed to experimental literature. Visit Dzanc Books’ website to explore these titles and other innovative fiction.