Congratulations to Washington author Leslie Pietrzyk on winning this prestigious award for her collection of stories, This Angel on My Chest. The award includes $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press.
In a press release from the University of Pittsburgh, Pietrzyk writes “This Angel on My Chest is a collection of unconventionally-linked stories, each about a different young woman whose husband dies suddenly and unexpectedly. Ranging from traditional stories, to lists, a quiz, a YouTube link, and even a ‘lecture’ about creative writing, the stories grasp to put into words the ways we all cope with unspeakable loss.” The collection is based on her own experience of losing her husband to a heart attack at age 37.
Potomac Review readers will remember that one of her stories, “Someone in Nebraska,” was included in issue #55.
Read Ron Charles’s article about Pietrzyk’s win in the Washington Post.