Elizabeth Strout's Blog

““Strout’s ability to breathe life into these non-superheroes, to create recognizable, flawed, sympathetic, interesting humans, has won her a huge following and many honors, including the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge.””

Belinda Luscombe, "How Elizabeth Strout Gets Inside People's Minds," TIME, Apr 28, 2026.

Photo: Fjodor Buis

Delighted that The Things We Never Say was selected by the American Booksellers Association as an Indie Next Hardcover Pick for May!

I’m excited to announce my new book, THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY, coming out May 5. I’ve stepped away from Maine and the world of characters in the Olive Kitteridge and the Lucy Barton books. My new book is set on the Massachusetts coast and introduces a whole new set of characters. I hope you’ll come to love them as much as I do!

Special thanks to the designer of the gorgeous cover Anna Kochman, featuring a painting from O. Vaering / Bridgeman Images. I love the subtle brushwork on the moon’s reflection in the water, the ripple breaking up the reflection, and the hint of a line of clouds in the sky. Altogether magical.

Wonderful that Tell Me Everything has made the Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist! Again, thank you to the judges and congratulations to the other shortlisted authors.

I'm delighted that Tell Me Everything has made the Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist! Thank you to the judges and congratulations to all the longlisted authors.

“In Oprah’s most recent Book Club pick, Tell Me Everything, Olive … returns — and she is not alone. Throughout Strout’s work, 25 characters appear in more than one of her novels; Tell Me Everything features 23 of them. For an author renowned for her ability to capture the overlapping histories and rich particularities of each and every character, bringing so many of them together is an ecstatic gift to her readers: a literary fantasy fulfilled.”

Charley Burlock, “Elizabeth Strout’s Universe, Explained Oprah Daily, Sep 18, 2024.

“In Oprah’s most recent Book Club pick, Tell Me Everything, Olive … returns — and she is not alone. Throughout Strout’s work, 25 characters appear in more than one of her novels; Tell Me Everything features 23 of them. For an author renowned for her ability to capture the overlapping histories and rich particularities of each and every character, bringing so many of them together is an ecstatic gift to her readers: a literary fantasy fulfilled.”

Charley Burlock, “Elizabeth Strout’s Universe, Explained Oprah Daily, Sep 18, 2024.

I’m absolutely thrilled that Tell Me Everything was chosen to be the next Oprah’s Book Club pick!

It was announced on CBS Mornings where we had a warm, fun chat. Oprah is amazing.

How can you participate? Get the book, follow the schedule below, and join the weekly Oprah’s Book Club discussions on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok! by following and posting: #ReadWithUs.

““Tell Me Everything” offers readers an abundance of the searing and plain-spoken insights for which Strout is beloved.... Strout looks, she sees. And when we read her books — oh! — so do we.”

Alexis Schaitkin, “Elizabeth Strout Gets the Gang Back Together for a Murder Mystery,” New York Times, Sept 9, 2024.