WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Add short-story writer T.M. McNally to the list of PEN/Faulkner fiction prize honorees with a Pittsburgh connection.

When I first wrote about this year's winners May 6, I listed three:

Winner Kate Christensen, who's married to Jon Lewis, son of the late real-estate developer, Eddie Lewis; Annie Dillard, born and raised in Pittsburgh; and David Leavitt, whose family moved to California in the 1960s when he was 4.

McNally contacted me after the initial story to reveal his relationship with the city. He was a finalist for his short-story collection, "The Gateway" (Southern Methodist University Press, $22.50). He also has written three novels and teaches at Arizona State University.

In an e-mail, he described his local roots:

"I was named after my great-grandfather, Thomas Michael McNally, who built a minor dynasty in the city of Pittsburgh. The family legends describe a fairly large figure in the construction industry, circa 1920s. The stories abound, the various projects all over the country, NYC and New Orleans, pre-Great Depression, and the McNally family plot is at the Homewood Cemetery. ..."

His father, also buried here, and brother are Carnegie Mellon University graduates.

"And I wrote part of my first book, 'Low Flying Aircraft,' while living in Pittsburgh," he added.

Left out in the cold was the fifth finalist, Ron Rash, a short-story writer from North Carolina.

Based in the nation's capital, the PEN/Faulkner Foundation is a writers' organization inspired by a donation from William Faulkner supporting his fellow authors.

It has been awarding fiction prizes for 28 years, twice honoring the books of another Pittsburgher, John Edgar Wideman. Philip Roth, with three, has the lead in this competition.

The ceremonies are held in the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill in a reduced replica of the Globe Theater. It's a simple affair, with the finalists reading briefly from their books.

Saturday's program followed the script, with judge Molly Giles filling in for the absent Dillard, reading a short passage from her second novel, "The Maytrees."

Despite the foundation's literary pedigree, the ceremony organizers continue to select a host who views the evening as an opportunity to talk about himself rather than focus on the writers.

Rising to the occasion was Roger Rosenblatt, who believed we'd be entertained by tales of his prostate cancer. A few in the audience were, while the rest of us had a chance to study the program until he finished.

Tonight: The Madwomen in the Attic come downstairs to the first floor of Hemingway's Tavern, 3911 Forbes Ave., Oakland for 8 p.m. poetry readings by Madalon Amenta, Gerry Boccella, Mary Alice Drusbasky, Angele Ellis, Cay Hamilton, Bridgette Nofsinger, Marilyn Marsh Noll, Diane Russell Pineda, Leone P. Paradise, Kayla Sargeson, Shirley Snodey and Lucienne Wald.

Thursday: Christina Springer, a co-founder of Sun Crumbs, Pittsburgh poetry slam group, will present her first reading in the area in five years at the Inner Vagabond Coffeehouse and World Lounge, 4130 Butler St., Lawrenceville, at 8 p.m. It's free.

Sunday: Poet Terrence Hayes reads at the Carnegie Main Library of Pittsburgh, Oakland, at 2 p.m. Hayes is the author of three collections and teaches at Carnegie Mellon.

Both events are free.

Samuel Hazo, Duquesne University's McAnulty Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus, will be granted an honorary degree from his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, Sunday.

Hazo is also founder and executive director of the International Poetry Forum.