The PennZone

LOS ANGELES - PennZone -- Drew Nellins Smith, author of Arcade (Unnamed Press, 2016), returns with Wince (Itna Press, July 2026), a darkly comic, razor-sharp portrait of American masculinity in freefall. Equal parts character study and slow-motion implosion, the novel follows a man who mistakes rock bottom for a second chance—and finds himself in far deeper trouble than he ever imagined.

Winston Fisher, Jr. —Wince to the people who still put up with him—is broke, unemployed, and freshly divorced for the third time. He drifts through his rented McMansion in a bathrobe, cocaine-addled and surrounded by the private arsenal he's assembled piece by piece. His mother won't stop calling. His newly engaged daughter keeps him updated on wedding plans. Both still believe in the man he used to be. Only his dealer and his best friend—an escort—know the truth.

More on The PennZone

• New Research: Deterministic Decompilation of Hermes Bytecode Back to Readable JavaScript
• The J. Wes Project Celebrates 11 Years of Love, Music & Inspiration
• Lionheart Holdings and KEO Energy Sign Letter of Intent for Proposed Business Combination
• MoMojo Records announces new album from Jad Tariq
• Marcus Christ Announces Singles: "The Hammer Goes Click" and "You Hate Me, I Hate You"

What starts as a side hustle, customizing AR-15s in his garage, spirals into something far more lucrative, far more dangerous, and somehow far more tedious than Wince expected. The tedium shatters when he discovers a cartel-run stash house tucked inside a South Texas junkyard. He can't stop imagining what it would take to rob it. Soon, he starts wondering if he's desperate enough to actually try.

Wince is an unflinching, often hilarious satire about depression, gun culture, and the particular American delusion that catastrophe can somehow be the first step toward stability.

Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask, praised the book as "funny, profane, sly and bruising." Dan Chaon, author of One of Us, described it as "a trenchant, timely and hilarious noir." Novelist Donald Ray Pollock, author of The Devil All the Time, called Wince "gritty and compulsively readable," and praised Smith for "accomplishing the nearly impossible: making a repellent character likeable," while Nico Walker, author of Cherry, described the book as "a Chekhovian dive into the spiritual desolation of the American West."

More on The PennZone

• Fatal FOMO May be Your Last Roll of the Dice
• Martin A. Sumichrast Joins Hawkeye Systems, Inc. as Chairman of the Board
• Allstream Energy Partners Returns as a Media Partner for the 2026 API Inspection & Mechanical Integrity Summit in San Antonio
• Community Partnership Brings Live Theater to 150+ Young People
• Best Rainbow Baby Charities That Support Bereaved Parents After Pregnancy Loss: A Complete Guide

Drew Nellins Smith is a writer based in Austin, Texas. His work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Believer, Tin House, VICE, and Literary Hub. Wince is his second novel.

Wince is available now on Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and select independent bookstores.