University Times

The 25th annual Drue Heinz Literature Prize was awarded to David Ebenbach for his manuscript, “Between Camelots.” The winning submission was chosen from nearly 300 entries and will be published by the University of Pittsburgh Press this fall.
The collection takes its name from one of the stories, about a man at a backyard barbecue waiting for a blind date who never arrives. “Like many of the characters in this collection, he is struggling to forge and keep connections with people, and so often fails to hold on,” states Ebenbach. Author Stewart O’Nan, who judged the competition for the 2005 prize, said, “These stories of searching young Americans are intimate and sharply detailed, sometimes hopeful, often sad, with just a taste of the strange.” O’Nan won the Drue Heinz Literature Prize in 1993.
A Philadelphia native, Ebenbach holds a doctorate in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.F.A. in writing from Vermont College. He resides in Montclair, N.J.
Ebenbach’s short fiction has been published in numerous literary magazines, including Denver Quarterly, Beloit Fiction Journal and Crazyhorse. He also has published poetry in Phoebe, Stickman Review and Arbutus, among other publications.
Established in 1980 and endowed by the Drue Heinz Trust since 1995, the Drue Heinz Literature Prize recognizes and supports writers of short fiction. Authors who have published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories or novellas are eligible. Manuscripts are judged anonymously by nationally known writers. The prize carries a cash award of $15,000.