Pittsburgh, PA – Patricia Grace King, of Durham, England, is the winner of the 2026 Drue Heinz Literature Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious prizes for a collection of short fiction. King’s collection, Those Who Vanish, was selected by Quan Barry. Those Who Vanish will be published in September 2026. “The stories in Patricia Grace King’s ravishing Those Who Vanish chronicle the consequences of inhabiting spaces both physical and psychic where one doesn’t naturally belong,” offered Barry, author of The Unveiling. “In stories ranging from conflict-ravaged Guatemala to the American Midwest and beyond, King’s unrelenting exploration of our need…

Pittsburgh, PA – The Pitt Poetry Series at the University of Pittsburgh Press is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2026 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize:  Afua Ansong, Mother’s First Word Was Light  Robert Laidler, Glass Letter  Max Lasky, Against Adieu  Migwi Mwangi, Desire Path  Jessica Nordell, Your Singing Is How We Will Find You    The winner, selected by Terrance Hayes, will be announced on January 28, 2026.   Established in 1981, the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is administered by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Named in honor of Agnes Lynch Starrett, the Press’s first director, the prize is awarded for a first full-length book of poems.  Past winners…

The University of Pittsburgh Press celebrated the 45th winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize with a series of events around the country promoting Bill Gaythwaite and his collection, A Place in the World. On October 9th, Left Bank Books in St. Louis hosted a reading with Gaythwaite and Ramona Reeves, winner of the 2022 DHLP.  On October 22nd, Gaythwaite traveled to Minneapolis for a conversation with Mubanga Kalimamukwento (DHLP ’24) at Magers and Quinn.   The tour concluded in Pittsburgh with two events. On October 28th, City of Asylum hosted Gaythwaite, Caroline Kim, and Kelly Sather for a conversation about the…

Hispanic Heritage Month is a month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latino history and culture. University of Pittsburgh Press is pleased to showcase poetry and nonfiction by Latinx authors and about the Latinx experience. From City of a Hundred Fires by Richard Blanco, first published in 1997, to Querida by Nathan Xavier Osorio, winner of the 2024 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, Latinx voices are a staple of the Pitt Poetry Series. Our Latinx and Latin American Profiles series regularly publishes work showcasing contemporary Latinx and Latin American literary, visual, and performing artists. Books like Welcome to Oxnard and Imaginative Possibilities exemplify our commitment…

Pittsburgh, PA –  A celebration of the life and work of Ed Ochester took place on September 12, 2025 at 7:30pm in the Connelly Ballroom, located in Alumni Hall on the University of Pittsburgh campus. The event was emceed by former Pitt Poetry Series co-editor Terrance Hayes and featured readings, remembrances, and a discussion with some of luminaries of American poetry and the Pitt Poetry Series under Ochester’s editorship: Quan Barry, Jan Beatty, Billy Collins, Denise Duhamel, Lynn Emanuel, Ross Gay, Paisley Rekdal, and Aaron Smith. See International Poetry Forum’s footage on their Instagram feed and ours, including these of…