MONDAY 10-5 / TUESDAY 10-8 / WEDNESDAY 10-5 / THURSDAY 10-8 / FRIDAY 10-5 / SATURDAY 10-5 / SUNDAY 12-4

Reader's Cafe

Pulitzer Prize

In the latter years of the 19th century, Joseph Pulitzer stood out as the very embodiment of American journalism. Hungarian-born, an intense indomitable figure, Pulitzer was the most skillful of newspaper publishers, a passionate crusader against dishonest government, a fierce, hawk-like competitor who did not shrink from sensationalism in circulation struggles, and a visionary who richly endowed his profession.

In writing his 1904 will, which made provision for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes as an incentive to excellence, Pulitzer specified solely four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama, one for education, and four traveling scholarships. In letters, prizes were to go to an American novel, an original American play performed in New York, a book on the history of the United States, an American biography, and a history of public service by the press.

Once a year, prizes are awarded in 21 categories, including Fiction, History, Biography or Autobiography, and General Non-Fiction.

Click the links for library holdings.

2011 Winners

Fiction: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

History: The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner

Biography or Autobiography: Washington : A Life by Ron Chernow

General Nonfiction: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

2010

Fiction: Tinkers by Paul Harding

History: Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed

Biography or Autobiography: The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles

General Nonfiction: The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy by David E. Hoffman