Check Out a Champion: Pulitzer Prize Winners in Literature: Home

"In writing his 1904 will, which made provision for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes as an incentive to excellence, [Joseph] Pulitzer specified solely four awards in journalism, four in books and drama, one for education, and five traveling scholarships." Through the past 100+ years, changes have been made in the names and quantity of categories, as well as the prize endowment.

Currently, prizes are awarded in two dozen categories; close to the same number of category titles have been retired. Occasionally, no winner will be selected for a particular category in a given year if the nominees "fell below [Pulitzer's] standards of excellence." Winners are announced every spring by the Pulitzer Board in conjunction with Columbia University.

Topping, S., Gissler, S., & Murphy, S. “History of the Pulitzer Prizes.” The Pulitzer Prizes. Columbia University, 2024. Web. https://www.pulitzer.org/page/history-pulitzer-prizes.

This LibGuide lists winners from all seven fiction and nonfiction Pulitzer book categories under the umbrella of Letters and Drama. It does not include winners in Music, Special Citations, or Journalism. Titles held by the Saratoga Springs Public Library link to the catalog record in order to check for availability. Those not held by SSPL may be available from another library through Interlibrary Loan.