# Drue Heinz Literature Prize

The Drue Heinz Literature Prize is a major American literary award for short fiction in the English language.
This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States was initiated in 1981 by Drue Heinz and developed by Frederick A. Hetzel. It has recognized and supported writers of short fiction and made their work available to readers around the world.
The award is open to writers who have 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, Russell Banks, Michael Chabon, Frank Conroy, Richard Ford, John Edgar Wideman, Nadine Gordimer, and Rick Moody. The prize carries a cash award of $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press. The winner is announced in February of each year.

## Winners

| Year | Winning Author | Title | Senior Judge |
| 1981 | David Bosworth | The Death of Descartes | Robert Penn Warren |
| 1982 | Robley Wilson | Dancing for Men | Raymond Carver |
| 1983 | Jonathan Penner | Private Parties | Wright Morris |
| 1984 | Randall Silvis | The Luckiest Man in the World | Joyce Carol Oates |
| 1985 | W. D. Wetherell | The Man Who Loved Levittown | Max Apple |
| 1986 | Rick DeMarinis | Under The Wheat | Alison Lurie |
| 1987 | Ellen Hunnicutt | In the Music Library | Nadine Gordimer |
| 1988 | Reginald McKnight | Moustapha's Eclipse | Margaret Atwood |
| 1989 | Maya Sonenberg | Cartographies | Robert Coover |
| 1990 | Rick Hillis | Limbo River | Russell Banks |
| 1991 | Elizabeth Graver | Have You Seen Me? | Richard Ford |
| 1992 | Jane McCafferty | Director of the World and Other Stories | John Edgar Wideman |
| 1993 | Stewart O'Nan | In The Walled City | Tobias Wolff |
| 1994 | Jennifer Cornell | Departures | Alice McDermott |
| 1995 | Geoffrey Becker | Dangerous Men | Charles Baxter |
| 1996 | Edith Pearlman | Vaquita and Other Stories | Rosellen Brown |
| 1997 | Katherine Vaz | Fado and Other Stories | George Garrett |
| 1998 | Barbara Croft | Necessary Fictions | Bharati Mukherjee |
| 1999 | Lucy Honig | The Truly Needy and Other Stories | Charles Johnson |
| 2000 | Adria Bernardi | In the Gathering Woods | Frank Conroy |
| 2001 | Brett Ellen Block | Destination Known | C. Michael Curtis |
| 2002 | John Blair | American Standard | Elizabeth Hardwick |
| 2003 | Suzanne Greenberg | Speed-Walk and Other Stories | Rick Moody |
| 2004 | Darrell Spencer | Bring Your Legs with You | Michael Chabon |
| 2005 | David Harris Ebenbach | Between Camelots | Stewart O'Nan |
| 2006 | Todd James Pierce | Newsworld | Joan Didion |
| 2007 | Kirk Nesset | Paradise Road | Hilary Masters |
| 2008 | Anthony Varallo | Out Loud | Scott Turow |
| 2009 | Anne Sanow | Triple Time | Ann Patchett |
| 2010 | Tina May Hall | The Physics of Imaginary Objects | Renata Adler |
| 2011 | Shannon Cain | The Necessity of Certain Behaviors | Alice Mattison |
| 2012 | Beth Bosworth | The Source of Life and Other Stories | Sven Birkerts |
| 2013 | Anthony Wallace | The Old Priest | Amy Hempel |
| 2014 | Kent Nelson | The Spirit Bird: Short Stories | David Guterson |
| 2015 | Leslie Pietrzyk | The Angel on My Chest | Jill McCorkle |
| 2016 | Melissa Yancy | Dog Years | Richard Russo |
| 2017 | William Wall | The Islands | David Gates |
| 2018 | Brad Felver | The Dogs of Detroit | Lynne Sharon Schwartz |
| 2019 | Kate Wisel | Driving in Cars with Homeless Men | Min Jin Lee |
| 2020 | Caroline Kim | The Prince of Mournful Thoughts and Other Stories | Alexander Chee |
| 2021 | Joanna Pearson | Now You Know It All | Edward P. Jones |
| 2022 | Ramona Reeves | It Falls Gently All Around and Other Stories | Elizabeth Graver |
| 2023 | Kelly Sather | Small in Real Life | Deesha Philyaw |
| 2024 | Mubanga Kalimamukwento | Obligations to the Wounded | Angie Cruz |