Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Hernan Diaz is set to publish his third novel, Ply, through Riverhead Books on September 29, 2026. The book follows the international success of Trust, which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and takes Diaz’s literary project in a striking new direction. After reimagining America’s past in his previous novels, the author now looks centuries ahead to a world in which humanity is rebuilding its relationship with technology, society and nature.
Set in a city approaching a profound transformation after the state has been dismantled, Ply follows an orphan struggling to survive in an uncertain new era. She eventually becomes a “pincher,” stealing electricity from the grid and selling it on the black market while powering underground concerts. Her dangerous work draws her into a vibrant world of art and music, before leading her towards a vast scientific invention capable of altering the very fabric of reality.
Spanning 464 pages, the novel combines family drama, scientific thriller and an expansive human journey while examining technology, freedom, justice and the fragile boundaries of identity. Through a speculative world that carries unmistakable echoes of the present, Diaz continues his exploration of the myths underpinning American society, creating a novel of ideas rooted in human relationships and the struggle to preserve love, trust and loyalty amid profound uncertainty.