Featured Book
ANTiQUE
A Novel, by Seth Panitch
Release Date: February, 2026
Grand Central Publishing
Set in the captivating world of Antiques Roadshow, ANTIQUE follows a once celebrated appraiser as she fights her way back to the summit of the Art World with the mysterious help of a powerful object of unknown provenance…and power.
Grace Schaffer has the eye and empathy of a virtuoso appraiser. Raised by an eminent but emotionally withdrawn scholar, her talent landed her a coveted spot on Antiques Roadshow, where she charmed legions of viewers with her mastery of painting and provenance, as well as her genuine fascination in both object and owner. But she’s since fallen from her gilded perch, losing her marriage in the process, and has been left asking what her clients so often ask her, What is it worth? Or, the question that beats beneath, What am I worth?
In a last ditch attempt to revive her spirits and her career, she signs on to an amateur travelling show, and during an otherwise routine appraisal of an old, weathered necklace – a corroded copy of an ancient ceremonial artifact – she finds herself overwhelmed by a strange and sudden confidence, declaring the necklace worth thousands of dollars.
It falls into her hands, and when her next appraisals sell for precisely the amount she believes they must, regardless of their market values, Grace finds herself travelling down a perilous but irresistible path toward a reckoning with the fading memory of her father, the puzzling legacy of her mother, and the wounded sense of her own worth; a road that ends in the shocking discovery of a “Grail,” every appraiser’s dearest dream–the revelation of a lost masterpiece, powerful enough to change the way we view art, and therefore, our very humanity.
With her critics waiting to pounce, a final showdown occurs in the hallowed halls of Sotheby’s Auction House, with the whole art world waiting and watching to see if what Grace has deemed an unknown painting by Master Impressionist William Kent is genuine–or just an inferior pretender.
For readers of THE ART FORGER by B.A. Shapiro and CLARA AND MR. TIFFANY by Susan Vreeland who enjoy novels of art and love, ANTIQUE delivers a smart, moving, and entertaining story that will leave readers believing in the magic that lies within us all – should we dare to use it.
About Me
I grew up in Southern California, and somehow, neither learned to surf nor apply sunscreen – both things I regret to this day. Although I was initially delivered by an inebriated obstetrician, I have been reborn many times since. My second delivery was in the fourth grade, when a dear friend blackmailed me into auditioning for Charlotte’s Web. Templeton the Rat was typecasting, to be sure, but it was also the gateway into a life in Theatre, which has been the everlasting midwife to my creativity, in all its forms. In college, I was momentarily seduced by the siren song of Medicine, but the specter of 8am Chemistry classes muted that particular music, and I began a journey through International Relations, Russian Studies, and History – all passions, still – but I missed the challenge and adventure of Acting. My next birth was under the care of my college professor (now one of my dearest friends), who delivered me back into the world of Shakespeare, Shaw, Shepard, and everything in between. Unlike my first birth, I did not cry at this one, although many people who saw my early college performances may have done so; they have my sincerest apologies. My studies continued at the Professional Actors Training Program at the University of Washington under Master Acting Teacher Jack Clay, who spoke so eloquently of the lyricism of text, that I was inspired to experiment in it myself. After a few years performing in tights and staring at Yoric’s skull, my first play was produced by Lillie Turner at the Westbeth Theatre Center, which served as the neonatal ward for my fourth birth, this time as a playwright. My fifth followed soon after, when I began writing with and for Joel Zwick, who taught me the difference between plays and screenplays, and why I was no good at either. It was the challenge of his life to improve my work, and the honor of mine to watch him do it. The belly of my career swelled again, and my sixth birth was upon me – this time as a University professor, which ultimately led to my most recent birth, and the one that brings you and I together.
You see, all the way back, nearly to the time of Templeton the Rat, I had an English Teacher (let’s call her, for the sake of anonymity The Dragon Lady). She placed a seed within me in her Craft of the Short Story class, and unlike most pregnancies, this one lasted over thirty years (imagine how many jars of pickles I consumed in the interim). This seventh birth was a return to what I had set out to do in the first place, that is, to become a novelist. I am a middle-aged newborn, to be sure, but now that my fanny has been well swatted and my eyes have opened, this world looks oh so beautiful to me.
If you have noticed a pattern in all this meshuggass, so have I. At every turn, I have been inspired by brilliant teachers – of acting, of writing (and through the tutelage of my wife, of love and commitment) – and those dear souls have delivered me so that I may deliver a story to you. If you enjoy my work, it is their glory.
ANTIQUE is Seth’s first novel. His films Service to Man and The Coming are both distributed by Freestyle Entertainment Studios. His plays Dammit, Shakespeare!, Hell: Paradise Found (Broadway Play Publishing, Inc.), Alcestis Ascending, and Separate and Equal have all been produced Off Broadway. He is a Professor of Theatre and directs the MFA Acting Program at the University of Alabama. Far more importantly, he is married to Laura Earnest Panitch, who does not seem to mind when he creeps upstairs to write, or when he lets their dog Moses use him as a jungle gym. Seth is a proud member of the Author’s Guild, the Dramatists Guild of America, the Society of Directors and Choreographers, and the Illuminati – although he has steadfastly refused to have their name tattooed onto his chest.
“Seth Panitch writes. All the time. It limits his ability to throw tennis balls for me in the backyard. He tells me there is good reason for this; that he is working to tell stories to people. I think people are okay, so long as they give me treats or let me pounce upon them. If his stories make them give me more treats, I think that is good, and his writing is good. If his stories make them sit down, and this gives them meatier laps to pounce upon, I think that is good, and his writing is good. If people listen to his stories on their phones while they jog past me, and they are too swift for me to pounce upon, I think that is bad, and his writing is destroying the Universe.
-Moses Panitch, ESQ. Dog.