The coveted Pulitzer Prize was given out to its recipients on May 5th, 2026. The Pulitzer Prize is for Journalism, Books, Drama, and Music. 23 awards were given out this year, let’s see some of the incredible works that won this year.
Alexandra Lange, who was a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab won the prize for Criticism for writing about public spaces and the types of architecture that help, children, families, and communities thrive.
Raj Mankad , Sharon Steinmann, Lisa Falkenberg, and Leah Binkovitz from the Houston Chronicle won the prize in Editorial Writing for their series on dangerous train crossings and their calls to action.
James by Percival Everett won the prize for fiction. This book retells the story of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain from the perspective of escaped slave Jim.
Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life by Jason Roberts won the prize for biography. The biography is about both Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis de Buffon. They both were amazing scientists (a biologist and a naturalist respectively) who greatly contributed to the understanding of our world. Notably Linnaeus was the “father of modern taxonomy”.
Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls won the prize for Memoir or Autobiography. This graphic novel tells the story of three generations of Chinese women (Hulls and her mother and grandmother) and their familial trauma.
Sky Islands, by Susie Ibarra won the prize for Music. The work focuses on ecosystems and biodiversity while also displaying impressive musical prowess.
Additionally, Chuck Stone won the prize for Special Awards and Citations. He was awarded due to his groundbreaking coverage of the Civil Rights Movement and for his co-founding of the National Association of Black Journalists.
The Pulitzer Prize was named after famous publisher Joseph Pulitzer after he left an endowment in his will to Columbia University, he specified that they should give out awards for journalistic excellence. Since then, the prize has expanded to literature, drama, and music. The award is considered one of the greatest achievements for any journalist or author.
Notable Pulitzer Prize winners include:
Harper Lee (Fiction)- To Kill A Mockingbird, a classic novel which highlighted the racism and prejudice of the American South.
Robert Frost (Poetry)- He won four times, for various poems.
The Washington Post (National Reporting)- For the investigation of the Watergate scandal (most notably journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein contributed.)
On the status of the Pulitzer Prize as an award for journalistic excellence, Parkland’s journalism teacher, Mrs. Thomas said “I think it’s good as long as they are fair about it!”
The Pulitzer Prize was named after famous publisher Joseph Pulitzer after he left an endowment in his will to Columbia University, he specified that they should give out awards for journalistic excellence. Since then, the prize has expanded to literature, drama, and music. The award is considered one of the greatest achievements for any journalist or author.
Congratulations to all the winners of 2025!
