The Stephen Dixon papers primarily document Dixon's writing career from approximately 1950 to 2019. Dixon's preferred writing method involved the use of a typewriter, and the collection is largely original typescripts and galleys of published short story collections and novels. The collection is arranged in five series:

Series 1: Biographical materials includes photographs, personal notebooks, and other materials about Stephen Dixon’s life. The series contains awards received by Dixon between 1983-1991, articles including interviews and biographical information written about Dixon from approximately 1993-2007, as well as two audiocassettes labeled "WNYC AM820/93.9FM" dated May 3, 1994, which likely contain a recorded interview with Dixon. The series also includes several notebooks maintained by Dixon which contain notes on his writing, as well as personal material such as pictures of his family, drawings by his daughters, dream recollections, and general lists of household expenses. Additionally, this series includes photographs of Dixon dating from 1976 to approximately 2010. One of the photographs is of a group of what appear to be students and possibly one of Dixon's daughters. Another photograph is of Dixon autographing a book at the book party for No Relief, held at O'Neill's Bar in New York City. This file also contains a group photograph of the 1992 Penn Faulkner Award finalists.

Series 2: Creative works contains materials related to individual stories, novels, plays, films, and story collections written by Stephen Dixon or adapted from his writing from approximately 1957 to 2017. Some subseries contain both full copies of the work, as well as individual stories contained within that work. The written materials are generally typescripts, as this was Dixon's preferred writing method. Some drafts were written on the back of other documents, and several include handwritten notes and revisions by Dixon and other editors. This series also contains video adaptations of Dixon’s work on VHS tapes, as well as bibliographies and other unpublished stories by Dixon.

Series 3: Letters received consists of both handwritten and typewritten letters to Dixon from 1981-2018. The Jerome Klinkowitz file contains letters written from 1986-2018 by Dixon's longtime colleague and correspondent Jerome Klinkowitz, a faculty member at the University of Northern Iowa whose research interests included Kurt Vonnegut. These letters provide substantial insight into both Dixon's professional career and personal life. The Personal letters and postcards file consists of personal letters from family and friends, including letters from his daughters Sophia and Antonia Dixon, as well as John and Shelly Barth. The Professional letters and handwritten notes file consists of letters relating to Dixon's career, primarily from publishing companies though there are a few letters relating to Dixon's work as a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University.

Series 4: Professional files contains copies of published reviews of some of Dixon's books: 14 Stories, Too Late, Love and Will, The Play and Other Stories, Quite Contrary, No Relief, Movies, Fall and Rise, Movies: Seventeen Stories, and Garbage. The series also contains contracts established primarily in the 1980s between Dixon and various publishing companies and publications, such as Esquire and Transatlantic Review. Additionally, the series contains a Johns Hopkins University Annual Faculty Survey for the academic year 1997-1998, as well as a copy of Dixon's résumé.

Series 5: James R. Dixon stories contains eight unpublished stories written by James R. Dixon, brother of Stephen Dixon. The stories were written in approximately the 1950s.