Join us as we welcome Patricia Grace King, winner of the 2026 Drue Heinz Literature Prize, in conversation with local award-winning author Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry.

Winner one of the world’s most prestigious prizes for a story collection, Patricia Grace King’s brand-new book, Those Who Vanish, is set in Guatemala during its decades-long conflict, throwing together martyrs and missionaries, guerrillas and gringos, and peace workers and refugees.

Perfect for lovers of historical fiction with international settings, or for anyone interested in stories that explore faith, violence and survival, or the various reasons people leave home.

Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry has published over fifty stories and received eleven Pushcart Prize nominations. Kristina is the winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction, the Fellowships in Fiction from the Sewanee and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. She's the recipient of the 2026 CRAFT Award for Excellence in Short Fiction. Her first collection of stories, What Isn’t Remembered, was awarded the 2021 Prairie Schooner Book Prize, long-listed for the PEN/ Bingham Prize, and shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize. Her debut novel, The Orchard, was a finalist for the 2023 Chautauqua Prize and was picked by the New York Post as one of the best books of the year.