This year the Pulitzer committee did not present it’s annual award in the area of fiction. Although several notable books were nominated, the committee could not reach an agreement, so no award will be presented.
Although its been a long time, this isn’t the first instance that an award was not presented in fiction. The last time was in 1977 and there have been 10 previous times when no fiction award was given.
In a statement from Sig Gissler, administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes said: “The main reason (for the fiction decision) is that no one of the three entries received a majority, and thus after lengthy consideration, no prize was awarded. There were multiple factors involved in these decisions, and we don’t discuss in detail why a prize is given or not given.”
Chairwoman of the Pulitzer fiction jury Susan Larson, said, “it wasn’t up to the jury to select the winner. The decision not to award the prize this year rests solely with the Pulitzer board.”
Winners of the Pulitzer Prize in other categories were:
JOURNALISM
Public Service – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Breaking News Reporting – The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News Staff
Investigative Reporting – Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Chris Hawley of the Associated Press
and
Michael J. Berens and Ken Armstrong of The Seattle Times
Explanatory Reporting – David Kocieniewski of The New York Times
Local Reporting – Sara Ganim and members of The Patriot-News Staff, Harrisburg, Penn
National Reporting – David Wood of The Huffington Post
International Reporting – Jeffrey Gettleman of The New York Times
Feature Writing – Eli Sanders of The Stranger, a Seattle (Wash.) weekly
Commentary – Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune
Criticism –Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe
Editorial Writing – No award
Editorial Cartooning – Matt Wuerker of POLITICO
Breaking News Photography – Massoud Hossaini of Agence France-Presse
Feature Photography – Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post
LETTERS, DRAMA and MUSIC
Fiction – No award
Drama – “Water by the Spoonful” by Quiara AlegrÃa Hudes
History – “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,” by the late Manning Marable (Viking)
Biography – “George F. Kennan: An American Life,” by John Lewis Gaddis (The Penguin Press)
Poetry – “Life on Mars” by Tracy K. Smith (Graywolf Press)
General Nonfiction – “The Swerve: How the World Became Modern,” by Stephen Greenblatt (W.W. Norton and Company)
Music – “Silent Night: Opera in Two Acts” by Kevin Puts (Aperto Press)
