A Place in the World
A Place in the World is a story collection to be published by University of Pittsburgh Press in October 2025.
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 how our secrets refuse to let us forget who we were and what we’ve done.”
The eleven stories in A Place in the World are character-driven portrayals of various lives transformed by random events or through a twist of fate, stories of ordinary people experiencing extraordinary circumstances—a hopeless gay hustler, in for the long con, finds himself falling in love instead while vacationing in Denmark; a young woman living on the coast of Maine confronts her painful past when her little brother comes to visit after being released from rehab; a failed New York City actor afraid of commitment goes on a comic rant and embraces an epiphany while cat-sitting for a friend. This poignant, engaging collection offers compassion and surprising optimism while celebrating astonishing resilience in the face of life’s persistent challenges.
Underburn
Iris Flynn is an acerbic, self-sufficient seventy-three-year-old widow with a minor Hollywood career in her past and some streamlined kitchen cabinets inspired by Marie Kondo. Her composed and simplified existence is disrupted when her son Frank lands on her doorstep after his rental home is destroyed in a wildfire, the latest in a string of personal setbacks for Frank. He arrives with Logan, his young and handsome boyfriend, a featured extra on a teen soap opera with a loyal Instagram following.
Soon, news from her estranged family in Maine forces everyone out of their comfort zone. Iris convinces Frank and Logan to travel with her to the potato farm from where she made a quick getaway fifty years earlier, unleashing a funny and poignant family saga about secrets, forgiveness, and the fluctuating map of the human heart.
An extraordinary story about family resilience, missed connections and second chances that assures us it’s sometimes okay to create our own Hollywood endings.
Editorial Reviews
“A promising debut”
— Publishers Weekly
“A quirky family story told with wit and wisdom, with shades of Anne Tyler or Elizabeth Strout.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“A wonderfully engaging tale of both family and the underside of fame, Bill Gaythwaite’s debut novel Underburn mirrors the deceptive richness of the very generational ties it so charmingly explores: the long memories, conflicts big and small, surprisingly pivotal moments, and rediscovered bonds. One rarely encounters characters drawn with such candor, warmth, and humanity: you will gladly cheer and care for everyone as they seek to make peace with the past, while risking it all for a brand-new future.”
— Natalie Jenner, author of the international bestseller The Jane Austen Society
“In Underburn, Bill Gaythwaite gives us a mindful and compelling account of a family navigating the distances between generations—and coasts. An engaging and elegantly written novel.”
—David Leavitt, author of Lost Language of Cranes, The Indian Clerk, and Shelter in Place
Bill Gaythwaite has written the rare novel that is as gently touching as it is sharply hilarious. The characters in this book leapt off the page and into my heart, their every messy move captured with emotional precision. Underburn is a book to cherish.”
—Abdi Nazemian, Stonewall and Lambda Literary Award-Winning author of Like a Love Story and Only This Beautiful Moment
“A poignant, funny, and timely family drama following the often-twisted paths we navigate toward understanding, reconciliation, and forgiveness.”
— Christopher Castellani, author of Leading Men
“A witty, heartfelt novel with endearing, imperfect characters who are impossible to resist, a deft examination of a family in flux.”
— Kristyn Kusek Lewis, Contributing Books Editor, Real Simple and author of Perfect Happiness