Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Template:Short descriptionTemplate:More citations neededTemplate:Pulitzer The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during the preceding calendar year.

As the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel (awarded 1918–1947), it was one of the original Pulitzers; the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were awarded that year<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (no Novel prize was awarded in 1917, the first one having been granted in 1918).<ref name="prize">Template:Cite web</ref>

The name was changed to the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948, and eligibility was expanded to also include short stories, novellas, novelettes, and poetry, as well as novels.

Finalists have been announced since 1980, usually a total of three.<ref name=prize/>

Definition

As defined in the original Plan of Award, the prize was given "Annually, for the American novel published during the year which shall best present the wholesome atmosphere of American life, and the highest standard of American manners and manhood," although there was some struggle over whether the word wholesome should be used instead of whole, the word Pulitzer had written in his will.<ref name="Chronicle of the Pulitzer Prizes">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1927, the advisory board quietly instituted Pulitzer's word choice, replacing wholesome with whole.

A new consideration arose when the Pulitzer jury was unanimous in recommending Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey for the 1928 prize, although the book deals with Peruvians in Peru, not with Americans in America. The jury chair, Richard Burton of Columbia University, emphasized the moral value of the book in his report to the advisory board: "This piece of fiction is not only an admirable example of literary skill in the art of fiction, but also possesses a philosophic import and a spiritual elevation which greatly increases its literary value." Robert Morss Lovett disagreed, saying it would be "mere subterfuge to say that it has anything to do with the highest standard of American manners and manhood," but went along with the jury in finding "less literary merit" in the other novels under discussion. (Lovett rejected the runner-up Black April by Julia Peterkin, calling it "a rather unedifying picture of life in a primitive negro community" and "an ironical answer to the terms on which the prize is offered." Peterkin won nevertheless in 1929 for a similar novel, Scarlet Sister Mary.) Having settled on Bridge, the Advisory Board redefined the conditions from "whole atmosphere of American life, and the highest standard of American manners and manhood" to "preferably one which shall best present the whole atmosphere of American life," although this did not address the novel's setting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Further refinement into "the best novel published that year by an American author" removed any impediment to Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth in 1932, also with a foreign setting in its study of Chinese village life in Anhui, East China.<ref name="quo">Template:Cite web</ref>

With 1929 came the first of several much more substantive changes. The board changed the wording to "preferably one which shall best present the whole atmosphere of American life" and deleted the insistence that the novel portray "the highest standard of American manners and manhood". In 1936, emphasis was changed again, with the award going to "a distinguished novel published during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life". In 1948, the advisory board widened the scope of the award with the wording "For distinguished fiction published in book form during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life."<ref name="Chronicle of the Pulitzer Prizes"/> This change allowed the prize to go to a collection of short stories for the first time, James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific.

Winners

In 31 years under the "Novel" name, the prize was awarded 27 times; in its first 76 years to 2024 under the "Fiction" name, 70 times. There have been 11 years during which no title received the award. It was shared by two authors for the first time in 2023.<ref name=prize/> Since this category's inception in 1918, 31 women have won the prize. Four authors have won two prizes each in the Fiction category: Booth Tarkington, William Faulkner, John Updike, and Colson Whitehead.

Because the award is for books published in the preceding calendar year, the "Year" column links to the preceding year in literature.

1910s to 1970s

Year	Winner		Work		Genre(s)	Author's origin
1918	File:Ernest Poole.jpg	Ernest Poole (1880–1950)	His Family	Macmillan (1917)	Novel	Illinois
1919	File:Booth Tarkington cph.3b27122.jpg	Booth Tarkington (1869–1949)	The Magnificent Ambersons	Doubleday, Page & Co. (1918)	Novel	Indiana
1920	Not awardedTemplate:Efn
1921	File:Edith wharton face.jpg	Edith Wharton (1862–1937)	The Age of InnocenceTemplate:Efn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	D. Appleton & Company (1920)	Novel	New York
1922	File:Booth Tarkington cph.3b27122.jpg	Booth Tarkington (1869–1949)	Alice Adams	Doubleday, Page & Co. (1921)	Novel	Indiana
1923	File:Willa Cather - The Borzoi.jpg	Willa Cather (1873–1947)	One of Ours	Alfred A. Knopf (1922)	Novel	Virginia
1924	File:Margaret Wilson (The Indianapolis Star) 1923.jpg	Margaret Wilson (1882–1973)	The Able McLaughlins	Harper & Brothers (1923)	Debut novel	Iowa
1925	File:Edna-Ferber-1928.jpg	Edna Ferber (1885–1968)	So Big	Grosset & Dunlap (1924)	Novel	Michigan
1926	File:Lewis-Sinclair-LOC.jpg	Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951)	ArrowsmithTemplate:Efn	Harcourt Brace & Co. (1925)	Novel	Minnesota
1927	File:Louis-Bromfield-1933.jpg	Louis Bromfield (1896–1956)	Early Autumn	Amereon Ltd (1926)	Novel	Ohio
1928	File:Thornton Wilder - 1948.jpg	Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)	The Bridge of San Luis Rey	Albert & Charles Boni (1927)	Novel	Wisconsin
1929	File:Julia Peterkin.jpg	Julia Peterkin (1880–1961)	Scarlet Sister Mary	Bobbs-Merrill Company (1928)	Novel	South Carolina
1930		Oliver La Farge (1901–1963)	Laughing Boy	Houghton Mifflin (1929)	Novel	New York
1931		Margaret Ayer Barnes (1886–1967)	Years of Grace	Houghton Mifflin (1930)	Novel	Illinois
1932	File:Pearl Buck (Nobel).jpg	Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973)	The Good EarthTemplate:Efn	John Day Company (1931)	Historical fiction	West Virginia
1933	File:T. S. Stribling.jpg	T. S. Stribling (1881–1965)	The Store	Doubleday, Doran (1932)	Novel	Tennessee
1934		Caroline Miller (1903–1992)	Lamb in His Bosom	Harper & Brothers (1933)	Debut novel	Georgia
1935		Josephine Winslow Johnson (1910–1990)	Now in November	Simon & Schuster (1934)	Debut novel	Missouri
1936		Harold L. Davis (1894–1960)	Honey in the Horn	Harper & Brothers (1935)	Debut novel	Oregon
1937	File:Margaret Mitchell NYWTS.jpg	Margaret Mitchell (1900–1949)	Gone with the Wind	Macmillan Publishers (1936)	Novel	Georgia
1938		John Phillips Marquand (1893–1960)	The Late George Apley	Little, Brown and Company (1937)	Epistolary novel	Delaware
1939	File:Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.jpg	Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896–1953)	The Yearling	Charles Scribner's Sons (1938)	Young adult novel	Washington, D.C.
1940	File:John Steinbeck 1939 (cropped).jpg	John Steinbeck (1902–1968)	The Grapes of Wrath	Viking Press (1939)	Novel	California
1941	Not awardedTemplate:Efn
1942	File:Portrait of Ellen Glasgow.jpg	Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945)	In This Our Life	Jonathan Cape (1941)	Novel	Virginia
1943	File:Upton Sinclair 1.jpg	Upton Sinclair (1878–1968)	Dragon's Teeth	Viking Press (1942)	Historical fiction	Maryland
1944	File:Martin Flavin.jpg	Martin Flavin (1883–1967)	Journey in the Dark	Harper & Brothers (1943)	Novel	California
1945	File:Portrait of John Hersey LCCN2004663004.jpg	John Hersey (1914–1993)	A Bell for Adano	Alfred A. Knopf (1944)	War novel	New York (born in Tianjin, China)
1946	Not awardedTemplate:Efn
1947	File:Robert Penn Warren.jpg	Robert Penn Warren (1905–1989)	All the King's Men	Harcourt, Brace & Company (1946)	Political fiction	Kentucky
1948	File:James Albert Michener · DN-SC-92-05368.JPEG	James A. Michener (1907–1997)	Tales of the South Pacific	Macmillan Publishers (1947)	Interrelated short stories, Book debut	Pennsylvania
1949		James Gould Cozzens (1903–1978)	Guard of Honor	Harcourt, Brace & Company (1948)	War novel	Illinois
1950	File:A. B. Guthrie 1923 (page 32 crop).jpg	A. B. Guthrie (1901–1991)	The Way West	William Sloane Associates (1949)	Western fiction	Indiana
1951		Conrad Richter (1890–1968)	The Town	Alfred A. Knopf (1950)	Novel	Pennsylvania
1952	File:Herman Wouk (cropped).jpg	Herman Wouk (1915–2019)	The Caine Mutiny	Doubleday (1951)	Historical fiction	New York
1953	File:Ernest Hemingway 1950 crop.jpg	Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)	The Old Man and the Sea	Charles Scribner's Sons (1952)	Short novel	Illinois
1954	Not awardedTemplate:Efn
1955	File:Carl Van Vechten - William Faulkner (greyscale and cropped).jpg	William Faulkner (1897–1962)	A Fable	Random House (1954)	Novel	Mississippi
1956	File:MacKinlay Kantor (1950).jpg	MacKinlay Kantor (1904–1977)	Andersonville	Penguin Books (1955)	Historical fiction	Iowa
1957	Not awardedTemplate:Efn
1958		James Agee (1909–1955)	A Death in the Family (posthumously)	McDowell, Obolensky (1957)	Autobiographical novel	Tennessee
1959		Robert Lewis Taylor (1912–1998)	The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters	Doubleday (1958)	Historical fiction	Illinois
1960		Allen Drury (1918–1998)	Advise and Consent	Doubleday (1959)	Political fiction, Debut novel	Texas
1961	File:Harper Lee Nov07.JPG	Harper Lee (1926–2016)	To Kill a Mockingbird	J. B. Lippincott & Co. (1960)	Southern Gothic, Bildungsroman, Debut novel	Alabama
1962		Edwin O'Connor (1918–1968)	The Edge of Sadness	Little, Brown and Company (1961)	Novel	Rhode Island
1963	File:Carl Van Vechten - William Faulkner (greyscale and cropped).jpg	William Faulkner (1897–1962)	The Reivers (posthumously)	Random House (1962)	Novel	Mississippi
1964	Not awardedTemplate:Efn
1965	File:Shirley Ann Grau LCCN97503400.jpg	Shirley Ann Grau (1929–2020)	The Keepers of the House	Alfred A. Knopf (1964)	Novel	Louisiana
1966		Katherine Anne Porter (1890–1980)	Collected Stories	Harcourt Brace (1965)	Short story collection	Texas
1967	File:Bernard Malamud portrait.jpg	Bernard Malamud (1914–1986)	The Fixer	Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1966)	Novel	New York
1968	File:William Styron, author, cropped (2).jpg	William Styron (1925–2006)	The Confessions of Nat Turner	Random House (1967)	Novel	Virginia
1969	File:N Scott Momaday 1977 (cropped).jpeg	N. Scott Momaday (1934–2024)	House Made of Dawn	Harper & Row (1968)	Novel	Oklahoma
1970	File:Jean Stafford in 1941 (cropped).jpg	Jean Stafford (1915–1979)	Collected Stories	Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1969)	Short story collection	California
1971	Not awardedTemplate:Efn
1972		Wallace Stegner (1909–1993)	Angle of Repose	Doubleday (1971)	Novel	Iowa
1973	File:Eudora-Welty-1962.jpeg	Eudora Welty (1909–2001)	The Optimist's Daughter	Random House (1972)	Short novel	Mississippi
1974	Not awardedTemplate:Efn
1975	File:Michael Shaara.jpg	Michael Shaara (1928–1988)	The Killer Angels	David McKay Publications (1974)	Historical fiction	New Jersey
1976	File:Saul Bellow (Herzog portrait).jpg	Saul Bellow (1915–2005)	Humboldt's Gift	Viking Press (1975)	Novel	Illinois (born in Quebec, Canada)
1977	Not awardedTemplate:Efn
1978		James Alan McPherson (1943–2016)	Elbow Room	Little, Brown (1977)	Short story collection	Georgia
1979	File:Johncheever.jpg	John Cheever (1912–1982)	The Stories of John Cheever	Alfred A. Knopf (1978)	Short story collection	Massachusetts

1980s to 2020s

Entries from this point on include the finalists listed for each year.

Year	Winner		Work		Genre(s)	Author's origin	Finalists
1980	File:Norman Mailer 1948 (cropped).jpg	Norman Mailer (1923–2007)	The Executioner's Song	Little, Brown (1979)	True crime novel	New Jersey	Template:Bulleted list
1981		John Kennedy Toole (1937–1969)	A Confederacy of Dunces (posthumously)	Louisiana State University Press (1980)	Picaresque novel	Louisiana	Template:Bulleted list
1982	File:John Updike with Bushes new.jpg	John Updike (1932–2009)	Rabbit Is Rich	Alfred A. Knopf (1981)	Novel	Pennsylvania	Template:Bulleted list
1983	File:Alice Walker.jpg	Alice Walker (b. 1944)	The Color Purple	Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (1982)	Epistolary novel	Georgia	Template:Bulleted list
1984		William Kennedy (b. 1928)	Ironweed	Viking Press (1983)	Novel	New York	Template:Bulleted list
1985		Alison Lurie (1926–2020)	Foreign Affairs	Random House (1984)	Novel	Illinois	Template:Bulleted list
1986	File:Larry McMurtry Photo Last Picture Show 1966.png	Larry McMurtry (1936–2021)	Lonesome Dove	Simon & Schuster (1985)	Western novel	Texas	Template:Bulleted list
1987	File:Peter Taylor in 1941 (cropped).jpg	Peter Taylor (1917–1994)	A Summons to Memphis	Alfred A. Knopf (1986)	Novel	Tennessee	Template:Bulleted list
1988	File:Toni Morrison.jpg	Toni Morrison (1931–2019)	Beloved	Alfred A. Knopf (1987)	Novel	Ohio	Template:Bulleted list
1989		Anne Tyler (b. 1941)	Breathing Lessons	Alfred A. Knopf (1988)	Novel	Minnesota	Template:Bulleted list
1990	File:Hijuelos.jpg	Oscar Hijuelos (1951–2013)	The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love	Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1989)	Novel	New York	Template:Bulleted list
1991	File:John Updike with Bushes new.jpg	John Updike (1932–2009)	Rabbit At Rest	Alfred A. Knopf (1990)	Novel	Pennsylvania	Template:Bulleted list
1992	File:Jane smiley 2009.jpg	Jane Smiley (b. 1949)	A Thousand Acres	Alfred A. Knopf (1991)	Domestic realism	California	Template:Bulleted list
1993	File:Robert Olen Butler 2016.jpg	Robert Olen Butler (b. 1945)	A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain	Henry Holt (1992)	Short story collection	Illinois	Template:Bulleted list
1994	File:2018-us-nationalbookfestival-annie-proulx.jpg	E. Annie Proulx (b. 1935)	The Shipping News	Charles Scribner's Sons (1993)	Novel	Connecticut	Template:Bulleted list
1995		Carol Shields (1935–2003)	The Stone Diaries	Random House (1993)	Novel	Illinois	Template:Bulleted list
1996	File:Ford, Richard -MBFI.jpg	Richard Ford (b. 1944)	Independence Day	Alfred A. Knopf (1995)	Novel	Mississippi	Template:Bulleted list
1997		Steven Millhauser (b. 1943)	Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer	Crown Publishers (1996)	Novel	New York	Template:Bulleted list
1998	File:Philip Roth - 1973.jpg	Philip Roth (1933–2018)	American Pastoral	Houghton Mifflin (1997)	Novel	New Jersey	Template:Bulleted list
1999	File:Michael Cunningham JB by David Shankbone.jpg	Michael Cunningham (b. 1952)	The Hours	Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1998)	Historical fiction	Ohio	Template:Bulleted list
2000	File:Jhumpa Lahiri (2015).png	Jhumpa Lahiri (b. 1967)	Interpreter of Maladies	Houghton Mifflin (1999)	Short story collection	Rhode Island (born in London, United Kingdom) (lives in Rome, Italy)	Template:Bulleted list
2001	File:Michael Chabon by Gage Skidmore.jpg	Michael Chabon (b. 1963)	The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay	Random House (2000)	Historical fiction	Washington, D.C.	Template:Bulleted list
2002	File:Richard Russo.jpg	Richard Russo (b. 1949)	Empire Falls	Alfred A. Knopf (2001)	Novel	New York	Template:Bulleted list
2003	File:Jeffrey Eugenides 2017.jpg	Jeffrey Eugenides (b. 1960)	Middlesex	Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2002)	Family saga	Michigan	Template:Bulleted list
2004	File:Poet Edward P. Jones NBF LOC (cropped).png	Edward P. Jones (b. 1950)	The Known World	Amistad Press (2003)	Historical fiction	Washington, D.C.	Template:Bulleted list
2005	File:Marilynne robinson 8405.jpg	Marilynne Robinson (b. 1943)	Gilead	Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2004)	Epistolary Novel	Idaho	Template:Bulleted list
2006	File:Geraldine Brooks 2002.jpg	Geraldine Brooks (b. 1955)	March	Viking Press (2005)	Historical fiction	New York (born in Sydney, Australia)	Template:Bulleted list
2007	File:Cormac McCarthy (Child of God author portrait - high-res).jpg	Cormac McCarthy (1933–2023)	The Road	Alfred A. Knopf (2006)	Post-apocalyptic fiction	Rhode Island	Template:Bulleted list
2008	File:Junot Díaz (cropped).jpg	Junot Díaz (b. 1968)	The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao	Riverhead Books (2007)	Novel	New Jersey (born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)	Template:Bulleted list
2009	File:Elizabeth Strout 2015.jpg	Elizabeth Strout (b. 1956)	Olive KitteridgeTemplate:Efn	Random House (2008)	Interrelated short stories	Maine	Template:Bulleted list
2010		Paul Harding (b. 1967)	TinkersTemplate:Efn	Bellevue Literary Press (2009)	Debut novel	Massachusetts	Template:Bulleted list
2011	File:Jennifer Egan BBF 2010 Shankbone.jpg	Jennifer Egan (b. 1962)	A Visit from the Goon SquadTemplate:Efn	Alfred A. Knopf (2010)	Interrelated short stories	Illinois	Template:Bulleted list
2012	Not awarded<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>						Template:Bulleted list
2013	File:Adam Johnson Writer Water Meter.JPG	Adam Johnson (b. 1967)	The Orphan Master's SonTemplate:Efn	Random House (2012)	Novel	South Dakota	Template:Bulleted list
2014	File:Donna Tartt.jpg	Donna Tartt (b. 1963)	The GoldfinchTemplate:Efn	Little, Brown and Company (2013)	Novel	Mississippi	Template:Bulleted list
2015	File:Anthony Doerr (2015).jpg	Anthony Doerr (b. 1973)	All the Light We Cannot SeeTemplate:Efn	Charles Scribner's Sons (2014)	War novel	Ohio	Template:Bulleted list
2016	File:Viet Thanh Nguyen - 2015 National Book Festival.JPG	Viet Thanh Nguyen (b. 1971)	The SympathizerTemplate:Efn	Grove Press (2015)	Debut novel	California (born in Buôn Ma Thuột, Vietnam)	Template:Bulleted list
2017	File:Colson whitehead 2009.jpg	Colson Whitehead (b. 1969)	The Underground RailroadTemplate:Efn	Doubleday (2016)	Alternate historical novel	New York	Template:Bulleted list
2018	File:Pulitzer2018-andrew-sean-greer-20180530-wp.jpg	Andrew Sean Greer (b. 1970)	LessTemplate:Efn	Little, Brown and Company (2017)	Satirical novel	Washington, D.C.	Template:Bulleted list
2019	File:Richard Powers (author).jpg	Richard Powers (b. 1957)	The OverstoryTemplate:Efn	W. W. Norton & Company (2018)	Novel	Illinois	Template:Bulleted list
2020	File:Colson whitehead 2009.jpg	Colson Whitehead (b. 1969)	The Nickel BoysTemplate:Efn	Doubleday (2019)	Novel	New York	Template:Bulleted list
2021	File:Louise erdrich 8199.jpg	Louise Erdrich (b. 1954)	The Night WatchmanTemplate:Efn	Harpercollins (2020)	Novel	Minnesota	Template:Bulleted list
2022	File:Joshua Cohen BBF 2010 Shankbone.jpg	Joshua Cohen (b. 1980)	The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous FamilyTemplate:Efn	New York Review Books (2021)	Novel	New Jersey	Template:Bulleted list
2023<ref name=":02">Template:Cite web</ref>	File:Hernan Diaz 5132716.jpg	Hernan Diaz (b. 1973)	TrustTemplate:Efn	Riverhead Books (2022)	Novel	New York (born in Argentina)	Template:Bulleted list
	File:Barbara Kingsolver (48684513758) (cropped).jpg	Barbara Kingsolver (b. 1955)	Demon CopperheadTemplate:Efn	Harper (2022)	Novel	Kentucky
2024	File:Jayne Anne Phillips (4987067124) (cropped).jpg	Jayne Anne Phillips (b. 1952)	Night WatchTemplate:Efn	Knopf (2023)	Novel	West Virginia	Template:Bulleted list
2025	File:Percival Everett, author, at the 2024 National Book Awards finalist reading 2 (cropped).jpg	Percival Everett (b. 1956)	JamesTemplate:Efn	Doubleday (2024)	Novel	Georgia	Template:Bulleted list

Repeat winners

Four writers to date have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction multiple times, one nominally in the novel category and two in the general fiction category. Ernest Hemingway was selected by the 1941 and 1953 juries, but the former was overturned with no award given that year.Template:Efn

• Booth Tarkington, 1919, 1922
• William Faulkner, 1955, 1963 (awarded posthumously)
• John Updike, 1982, 1991
• Colson Whitehead, 2017, 2020

Authors with multiple nominations

5 nominations

• Joyce Carol Oates

4 nominations

• Philip Roth

3 nominations

• Alice McDermott
• Anne Tyler
• Colson Whitehead

2 nominations

• Russell Banks
• Raymond Carver
• Don DeLillo
• Hernan Diaz
• E. L. Doctorow
• Louise Erdrich
• Richard Ford
• Adam Haslett
• Oscar Hijuelos
• Ha Jin
• Denis Johnson
• Gayl Jones
• Barbara Kingsolver
• Richard Powers
• Annie Proulx
• Marilynne Robinson
• Robert Stone
• John Updike

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Official website for Pulitzer Prize: for the Novel and for Fiction
• Template:StandardEbooks
• The Pulitzer Prize Thumbnails Project
• Michael's Cunningham's "Letter from the Pulitzer Fiction Jury: What Really Happened This Year," The New Yorker — Part One (July 9, 2012) and Part Two (July 10, 2012)