Elizabeth Strout is leaving Maine behind in her next novel, but she’s not going very far.
Random House will publish the author’s The Things We Never Say next spring, the press announced in a news release. Many of the author’s previous novels have been set in the Pine Tree State, but this one will take place in a coastal Massachusetts town. It follows Artie Dam, a high school history teacher with internal turmoil whose life is changed after a boating accident.
Strout is the author of 10 previous novels, including Olive Kitteridge, which won the Pulitzer Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; My Name Is Lucy Barton; and Oh William!, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her most recent novel, Tell Me Everything, was published last year.
“The Things We Never Say is one of Strout’s most profound novels yet, a stunning new chapter from one of our most accomplished observers of the human condition,” Random House said. “With her trademark exquisite prose, Strout captures the way grief reverberates through decades, the comfort found in deep friendships, and the freedom that comes when we break free of our secrets.”
Strout said in a brief statement, “I turned a page and left Maine. It was very refreshing to create a whole new set of characters.”
The Things We Never Say is slated for publication on May 5, 2026.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
