Search
Showing results for “Pulitzer Prize”
Jump to a topic
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the US, announced annually in May by Columbia University in New York City. There are 23 prize categories for achievements in American journalism and the arts, including fiction, music, drama, and photography. Finalists are decided by roughly 100 jurors spread across 22 panels, each chosen by a 19-person board of academics and media professionals on three-year terms.
The Hungarian-born Joseph Pulitzer pioneered investigative reporting, as well as sensational tactics to sell papers. When he died in 1911, Pulitzer left $2M to Columbia University to found its journalism school and establish the Pulitzer Prize.
Notable past winners have included novelist Toni Morrison, poet Robert Frost, and journalist and editor Bob Woodward. Winners receive $15,000 in cash and a certificate; the recipient of the public service award takes home a gold medal.Explore Pulitzer Prize
What we've found
Kendrick Lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, a milestone for hip-hopThe acclaimed rapper won for his 2017 album “DAMN.,” which includes sonic nods to the culture’s long history and lyrics that grapple with its complications. Critics noted that the award suggested hip-hop had been welcomed into the upper echelons of the art establishment. Literary HubPulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson explores the Scopes Monkey TrialThe 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial was referred to as the "Trial of the Century" at the time, and has been since viewed as one of the origins of modern culture wars. A symbolic clash between science and religion during a period of rapid cultural change, the case became a flashpoint of differing ideologies. The Great Trials PodcastThe Pulitzer Prize for photography has gone to the photographers who took some of history's defining imagesThe prestigious literary awards also include two prizes for photography: one for features and another for breaking news. Recipients have captured some of history’s most famous photos, including the iconic photo of US Marines raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima (by Joseph Rosenthal) and the legendary photo of Babe Ruth on the day of his final game (by Nat Fein). Weird HistoryThe Pulitzer Prize has had its fair share of controversiesFrom fabricated articles to fiction that inspired FBI surveillance, these are five of the most controversial moments in Pulitzer Prize history. Among them: the Pulitzer Board’s decision not to give novelist Sinclair Lewis the 1921 award for fiction. This snub led the author of “Main Street” to become the first Pulitzer recipient to reject the prize in 1926. MicPulitzer left $2M to Columbia to establish the Pulitzer PrizeThe man who transformed the New York World into the largest newspaper in America in the late 1800s left his home country of Hungary in 1864 to fight in the US Civil War. When he died in 1911, Pulitzer left $2M to Columbia University to found its journalism school and establish the Pulitzer Prize. Founders PodcastThe full list of every Pulitzer Prize winnerSince its inception in 1917, over 2,000 Pulitzers have been awarded to writers published in the US, from poetry and fiction to investigative reporting and history books. You can explore the winners by decade and year here, or click the view to see winners by category, including those no longer used. The Pulitzer PrizesIn 1974, Norman Mailer touted graffiti as an intellectual art formThe Pulitzer Prize winner explored the style in his 1974 Esquire essay, "The Faith of Graffiti," before expanding on it in a book with 81 photos by Jon Naar. In it, he traces the form back to its ancient roots and compares graffiti writers to Renaissance painters. Urban NationWashington's military acumen and political judgment were crucial to the Continental Army's successIn this podcast, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson argues that Washington's endurance, strategic communication, political judgment, and ability to elevate capable subordinates proved decisive, in sharp contrast to the failures of British leadership during the war. George Washington's Mount VernonJules Feiffer revolutionized the political cartoonFeiffer’s drawings for various newspapers functioned less as entertainment and more as editorial, skewering popular beliefs and accepted dogmas. In 1986, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his work. LambiekThe Kent State massacre sparked a nationwide student strikeIn 1970, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on Kent State University students—peacefully protesting the Vietnam War—and killed four. The tragedy led to more widespread nationwide protests, shutting down more than 200 colleges and universities. The event led to a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of a slain and grieving student. CNN'The Vulture and the Little Girl' (1993) has a controversial story behind itThe tragic Pulitzer Prize-winning image taken by South African photojournalist Kevin Carter depicts a little girl suffering from starvation during a famine in Sudan in 1993. Carter faced criticism from the public for taking her picture instead of helping her. A few months later, Carter took his own life. Rare Historical PhotosA theory about Pink Floyd and 'The Wizard of Oz' was popularized by a 19-year-oldPink Floyd’s seminal album “Dark Side of the Moon” eerily synchronizes with “The Wizard of Oz,” offering a psychedelic soundtrack for the movie. Journalist Charlie Savage popularized the phenomenon when he was 19. He’d go on to write for the Boston Globe and New York Times winning a Pulitzer Prize. MojoThe world's most famous portraits"Afghan Girl" (1984), "Migrant Mother" (1936), and Marilyn Monroe in a billowing skirt (1954) are among the most famous portraits of all time. Capturing both unbelievable tragedy and delight, these 15 images are some of the most captivating in human history. iPhotographyAlice Walker admired Flannery O’Connor for her honest portrayal of the SouthWalker wrote “The Color Purple,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making her the first Black woman to win the award. In her essay “A South Without Myths,” she calls O’Connor “the first great modern writer from the South,” particularly because her work abandoned nostalgia for the antebellum world. University of BuffaloThe reporters who broke the Watergate scandal reflect 50 years laterEven after 50 years, famed Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein remain tightly connected—calling each other multiple times a week. ABC NewsAugust Wilson’s ‘Fences’ swept the 1987 awards seasonThe play about a Black family in Pittsburgh won a Pulitzer Prize, a Tony Award, and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for best play of the year. National Endowment for the HumanitiesPulitzer's newspapers were intended for the massesHis newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World, transformed journalism by marketing to a mass audience rather than just the elite. 1440Reporting on the Santa Cruz stormsThe Pulitzer on the Road podcast interviews prizewinners for insights on their work and takes a deep dive into issues relevant to the awards. This episode focuses on Lookout Santa Cruz, a digital California-based outlet that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News for its coverage of the devastating storms the region faced in early 2023. Lookout’s reporters discuss the importance of local news coverage. The Pulitzer PrizesWomen work harder for PulitzersWhile the Pulitzers have never been segregated by gender, a 2012 study by the University of Missouri found female winners required significantly more elite credentials—Ivy League degrees, experience at top newspapers, and the like—than their male counterparts. Similar credentials are also overrepresented in the category of international reporting, suggesting the award favors those with more privileged upbringings. Phys.orgVisualizing 100 years of PulitzersThis fascinating data visualization breaks down a century of Pulitzer Prizes. Award categories are laid out against a timeline, and the symbols used to represent each winner indicate the topic of the winning work; the number of prizes won by that outlet thus far; and whether the prize was awarded to an individual or a newsroom. For the best viewing experience, zoom in using the magnifying glass on the cursor until it hits full-screen mode. BehanceKendrick Lamar's "DAMN." was the first hip-hop album to win a PulitzerKendrick Lamar’s 2017 Pulitzer win for his album "DAMN." made history as the first hip-hop artist ever to receive the award. The Pulitzer Prize for Music is usually awarded to classical and jazz compositions, making Lamar's win even more unexpected. NPRThe 100 best Pulitzer-winning booksNo ranking is definitive, but this site compiled expert analysis with book sales and other factors to rank the best books to win the Pulitzer. The list is topped by Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and includes fiction and nonfiction winners, providing a starred fan ranking and endorsements from experts and famous people. ShortformIn 2012, the Pulitzer Board chose not to award a prize for literatureThe literary world was shocked in 2012 when, for the first time in more than three decades, the Pulitzer Board decided not to award a prize for literature. The jury had selected three finalists (Karen Russell's "Swamplandia!," David Foster Wallace's "The Pale King," and Denis Johnson's "Train Dreams) but no winner. Supposedly FunFiction winners see the most financial gainThe Pulitzer Prize brings prestige, but inconsistent financial benefits. For nonfiction writers, receiving the award does increase sales, but only modestly. The big winners are the fiction writers, some of whom have seen sales double after a win. Mal Warwick On BooksWhat it's like to win a PulitzerFour Pulitzer Prize winners share how winning the award has impacted their lives and journalism careers. The high-profile nature of the award tends to legitimize the author and grant them better access to jobs and opportunities, but it can also increase pressure on writers to meet the same standard of their award-winning journalism. PoynterSometimes, an award isn't given for a categoryWhen the Pulitzers decided not to issue a 2021 award for Editorial Cartooning, it was surprising, but not unheard of. In fact, the same happened in 2012, when the Pulitzer board ignored the jury’s recommendations for the fiction prize. PoynterThe Pulitzer's evolving categories mirror the state of contemporary journalismThe inaugural prizes in 1917 selected four winners: two for newspaper journalism (including a look inside the German Empire amid World War I) and two for books, but the slate has evolved to include online-only outlets (2009), magazines (2015), and audio reporting (2020). The 2024 Pulitzers, in particular, marked a noticeable shift: More digital outlets were awarded than traditional newspapers, illustrating a sharp decline in local newspapers and a rise in digital outlets. Nieman Journalism LabThe 2022 Pulitzer winners (w/links)From exposes on Florida's deadly condo collapse, to the building of the James Webb telescope, to the lingering loss of 9/11—a linked archive of 2022 Pulitzer winners. Pulitzer Prizes
Try another search?