Those Who Vanish

By Patricia Grace King

Winner of the 2026 Drue Heinz Literature Prize

Taking place during the decades-long civil conflict, Those Who Vanish follows the stories of Guatemalan citizens and North American expats set on a collision course by war. Martyrs and missionaries, guerrillas and gringos are thrown together amid political violence. A peace worker shelters a rebel fighter. An exile returns to confront the legacy of her parents’ murders. The Virgin Mary begins appearing above an elderly woman’s stove. Set in a world of daily disappearances, the collection addresses a vital question: When all certainties are snatched away, what remains of lives, of memory, of faith?

Praise for Those Who Vanish

“The stories in Patricia Grace King’s ravishing Those Who Vanish chronicle the consequences of inhabiting spaces both physical and psychic where one doesn’t naturally belong. In stories ranging from conflict-ravaged Guatemala to the American Midwest and beyond, King’s unrelenting exploration of our need to survive while retaining our humanity propels these narratives into surprising and heart-breaking terrain. As one character poignantly asks of another, ‘The real question is, do you want to be found?’ Those Who Vanish doesn’t present us with easy answers but masterfully interrogates what it means to be lost and the often blinding nature of self-discovery.”

—Quan Barry, contest judge and author of The Unveiling

“In the world of Those Who Vanish, every absence is present, every presence is anxiously charged, and every unspoken word hangs between characters as dangerous as a grenade. These are unsentimental stories of cultural collisions and the aftershocks of violent conflict, which Patricia Grace King infuses with a gentle and generous life force.”

—Christopher Castellani, author of Last Seen

“Courageous and provocative, edgy and timeless, Those Who Vanish is a tapestry of stories that leave the reader entranced and aching with truths. Each character confronts, in dramatically different ways, the barriers of time, place, and circumstance while searching for love in a world fraught with violence and sorrow. The tales are finely crafted and deeply felt. King’s prose is concise, rich, and transformative. It demands to be read.”

—Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry, author of What Isn’t Remembered

Specifications: Hardcover, 184 Pages, 5.5 x 7 in.

Publication Date: September, 2026

ISBN: 9780822949237