List of fiction set in Pittsburgh

This is a list of fiction set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

## Books

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* Afterimage (Richard Christie Mystery #3) by Kathleen George
* All in Good Time by Carolyn Astfalk[1]
* An American Childhood by Annie Dillard
* American Rust by Philipp Meyer
* Another Kind of Monday by William Coles
* The Autobiography of My Body by David Guy
* Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
* The Bend of the World by Jacob Bacharach
* Blood on the Forge by William Attaway
* The Book of Jonas by Stephen Dau
* The Bridge to Nowhere by Megan McDonald
* Burning Valley by Phillip Bonosky
* Captains and Kings by Taylor Caldwell
* Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
* Christine by Stephen King
* Dear Zoe by Philip Beard
* Disquiet Heart by Randall Silvis
* Duffy's Rocks by Edward Fenton
* East Pittsburgh Downlow by Dave Newman
* The Einstein Pursuit (Payne & Jones #8) by Chris Kuzneski
* Elfhome (series) by Wen Spencer
* Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan
* Everyday People by Stewart O'Nan
* Fallen (Richard Christie Mystery #2) by Kathleen George
* Fleabrain Loves Franny by Joanne Rocklin
* From a Buick 8 by Stephen King
* The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle
* The Great Smith House Hustle by Jane Louise Curry
* Greenhorn on the Frontier by Ann Finlayson
* Ghosts of the Golden Triangle by Mord McGhee
* The Homewood Books by John Edgar Wideman
* Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
* Imposter (The Protectors #1) by Karen Fenech
* Iron City by Lloyd L. Brown
* Ironblood by Mord McGhee
* The King's Orchard by Agnes Sligh Turnbull
* The Last Chicken in America by Ellen Litman
* The Leap Year Boy by Marc Simon (2013)[2]
* Lethal Legacy by Gerald Myers
* A Little Girl in Old Pittsburg by Amanda Minnie Douglas
* Looking For The General by Warren Miller
* Macaroni Boy by Katherine Ayres
* The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes by K.C. Constantine
* Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
* The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
* A Model World and Other Stories by Michael Chabon
* Monongahela Dusk by John Hoerr
* The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon
* Only Ever You by Rebecca Drake
* Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland
* Ornamental Graces[3] by Carolyn Astfalk
* Our Lady of Immaculate Deception (Roxy Abruzzo Mystery #1) by Nancy Martin
* Out of This Furnace by Thomas Bell
* The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
* The Plantation (Payne & Jones #1) by Chris Kuzneski
* Pickles to Pittsburgh by Judi Barrett
* Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh by Rachael Lippincott
* Remember the End by Agnes Sligh Turnbull (1938)
* Riot by William Trautmann
* Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready (2008)
* Sent for You Yesterday by John Edgar Wideman
* Settling Accounts: Drive to the East by Harry Turtledove
* She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
* Snake Skin (Lucy Guardino FBI Thriller #1) by C.J. Lyons
* Sword of God (Payne & Jones #3) by Chris Kuzneski
* Taken (Richard Christie Mystery #1 by Kathleen George
* The Tempering by Gloria Skurzynski
* Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Tom Sweterlitsch
* Three Golden Rivers by Olive Price
* The Two Georges by Harry Turtledove and Richard Dreyfuss
* Under the Same Blue Sky by Pamela Schoenewaldt
* U.S.A. by John dos Passos
* Ukiah Oregon (series) by Wen Spencer
* The Valley of Decision by Marcia Davenport
* Watch Your Mouth by Daniel Handler
* Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey
* Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

## Comic books

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* Firestorm the Nuclear Man
* The Pitt
* Star Brand

## Film

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Main articles: List of films shot in Pittsburgh and List of television shows shot in Pittsburgh

## Plays

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* The Pittsburgh Cycle - In 2005, August Wilson completed a ten-play cycle, nine of which are set in Pittsburgh, chronicling the African-American experience in the 20th century. These are:
* 1900s - Gem of the Ocean (2003)
* 1910s - Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1984)
* 1920s - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1982) - set in Chicago
* 1930s - The Piano Lesson (1986) - Pulitzer Prize
* 1940s - Seven Guitars (1995)
* 1950s - Fences (1985) - Pulitzer Prize
* 1960s - Two Trains Running (1990)
* 1970s - Jitney (1982)
* 1980s - King Hedley II (2001)
* 1990s - Radio Golf (2005)

## Television series

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Main article: List of television shows shot in Pittsburgh

## Films

[edit]

Main article: List of films shot in Pittsburgh

## Music

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* "America", written by Paul Simon and performed by Simon & Garfunkel, includes the line "Kathy", I said, / As we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh, / Michigan seems like a dream to me now."[4]
* "Duquesne Whistle," which appears on the Bob Dylan album Tempest, was co-written by Dylan and Robert Hunter.[5] The song describes a train ride through Pittsburgh. NPR's Ann Powers speculates that this may be the same train described in Dylan's "Lo and Behold".[5]
* "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Bruce Springsteen describes "It's cloudy out in Pittsburgh / It's raining in Saigon / Snow's falling across the Michigan line."[4]
* "I'm Not Dead (I'm in Pittsburgh)", which appears on the Frank Black album Fast Man Raider Man, was co-written by Black and Pittsburgher Reid Paley.[4] It draws upon Pittsburgh's historical connection with the zombie genre.[4]

"I finally found a place to call my own / a place where all good sinners can get stoned / I'll keep my holy vision, you keep your stupid pride / You said I couldn't make it on my own / But I'm not dead (I'm in Pittsburgh) / And now I can't get out of town / But I'm not dead (I'm in Pittsburgh) / They've got me all strung, come cut me down."

* "Life During Wartime," which appears on Talking Heads' Fear of Music and Stop Making Sense, asks the listener in a post-apocalyptic landscape, "Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit? Heard about Pittsburgh, PA?"[4] Long-time Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz grew up in Pittsburgh.[4]
* "Lo and Behold," which appears on The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan and the Band, tells the story of the narrator recounting a train ride with "I come into Pittsburgh / At six-thirty flat / I found myself a vacant seat / An' I put down my hat."[4]
* "Sweet Little Sixteen", by Chuck Berry, rhymes "Pittsburgh, P.A." with "Frisco Bay."[4]
* "Six Days on the Road", written by Earl Green and Carl Montgomery, describes a trucker who says "Well, I pulled out of Pittsburgh", in describing life on the road.[4]
* Pittsburgher Wiz Khalifa often mentions the city in his music.
* Pittsburgher Mac Miller often mentions his hometown in his music

## Video games

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* Fallout 3
* Fallout 76
* The Last of Us[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ All in Good Time
2. ^ "LEAP YEAR BOY BY MARC SIMON: BOOK REVIEW – Book Reviews | Open Book Society". February 12, 2013.
3. ^ Ornamental Graces
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Norman, Tony (June 27, 2006). "Pittsburgh never sounded so right". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
5. ^ a b Powers, Ann (August 27, 2012). "Song Premiere: Bob Dylan, 'Duquesne Whistle'". NPR. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
6. ^ "The Last of Us and Pittsburgh: Real Game Worlds". Paste Magazine. Retrieved March 28, 2025.

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