The University of Pittsburgh Press announced its literature and poetry prize winners

The University of Pittsburgh Press has announced the winners and upcoming publications from its annual Drue Heinz Literature Prize and Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize

Kelly Sather, a writer, former entertainment lawyer and screenwriter from Larkspur, California, won the Drue Heinz Literature Prize for her debut book, “Small in Real Life.” The award, which is considered one of the most prestigious in the United State for a collection of short stories, was judged by National Book Award finalist Deesha Philyaw.

Of the collection of stories about Southern California, Philyaw said, “With exquisite, emotionally rich prose, every single story surprises and unsettles. Tenderness co-exists with terror, beauty alongside betrayal.”

“Small in Real Life” will be on sale Oct. 3.

Ryler Dustin of Bellingham, Washington, is the winner of the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize for his collection “Trailer Park Psalms.”

Jeffrey McDaniel, a poet and judge of the 2023 competition, said in the collection about an American landscape marked with violence, “Dustin dives into the murkiness of the past and emerges holding something holy and beautiful.” 

Dustin, who lives and teaches in Michigan, has poems in outlets like “American Life in Poetry,” “Verse Daily,” “The Best of Iron Horse” and “The Best of Button Poetry.”

“Trailer Park Psalms” will be on sale Sept. 12.

About the Drue Heinz Literature Prize

The Drue Heinz Literature Prize is awarded each year to an author who has published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals.

Manuscripts are judged anonymously by nationally known writers. Past judges have included Robert Penn Warren, Joyce Carol Oates, Raymond Carver, Margaret Atwood, and Joan Didion.

Winners receive a cash prize of $15,000, publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press and support in the nationwide promotion of their book.

About the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize

Established in 1981 and named for the first director of the University of Pittsburgh Press, the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is awarded for a first full-length book of poems.

The prize carries a cash award of $5,000 and publication as part of the Pitt Poetry Series.