The 2025 reading period for the Pitt Poetry Series is now open. Submissions to the Pitt Poetry Series are open to any poet writing in English who has published at least one full-length poetry collection. The qualification of prior full-length publication is defined as a book of 48 or more pages, exclusive of front matter, in a recognized publisher’s print edition of at least 500 copies. Poets who have not published a book before, or only in limited editions of less than 500 copies, or who have published chapbooks, should refer to the rules for our first-book competition, the Agnes Lynch…

Obligations to the Wounded by Mubanga Kalimamukwento has won the 2025 CLMP’s Firecracker Award for Fiction.  Obligations to the Wounded, winner of the 2024 Drue Heinz Literature Prize, was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in October, 2024. From the Judges: “Seldom does fiction so expertly capture the complications of queerness, family, dislocation, and culture. Obligations to the Wounded is a triumphant collection of unforgettable tales whose characters are as varied in identity as they are in experienced circumstances. With wit and cunning, the protagonists navigate the ever-present systems of oppression that encircle them and their relationships. Mubanga Kalimamukwento has written…

Submissions for the 2026 Drue Heinz Literature Prize are now open! Details and submission guidelines can be found here. The deadline for submission is June 30th. The Drue Heinz Literature Prize recognizes and supports writers of short fiction and makes their work available to readers around the world. • Manuscripts are judged anonymously by nationally known writers. Past judges have included Angie Cruz, Alexander Chee, Deesha Philyaw, Min Jin Lee, Margaret Atwood, Russel, Rick Moody, and Joan Didion. • Winners receive a cash prize of $15,000, publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press, and support in the nation-wide promotion of…

Pittsburgh, PA — Bill Gaythwaite of Union, NJ, is the winner of the 2025 Drue Heinz Literature Prize, one of the nation’s most prestigious prizes for a collection of short stories. Gaythwaite’s collection, A Place in the World, was selected by Manuel Muñoz. A Place in the World will be published on October 7, 2025. “These are captivating stories that reveal how intertwined we really are with our past selves,” shares Manuel Muñoz, author of What You See in the Dark and The Consequences. “A fantastic collection about facing up to the ghosts of our mistakes and our fears, and…

Pitt Poetry Series author Michael Wurster will receive a City Paper Person of the Year Award in Literature on January 9th, from 6-9 p.m., at the Greer Cabaret Theater, People of the Year Speakeasy 2024. Congratulations to Michael on this special recognition for his lifelong achievements in promoting poetry and literature in Pittsburgh. For Tickets visit People of the Year Speakeasy 2024: https://us.commitchange.com/pa/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-city-paper/events/people-of-the-year-speakeasy-2024