The Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize, established through a bequest in Joseph Pulitzer’s will in 1904, is designed as an incentive to encourage excellence in writing. Originally, Pulitzer specified four awards, however the number of awards has increased over the years and currently 21 awards are presented in categories such as fiction, poetry, music, and photography, in addition to the original journalistic awards. The book award category for fiction recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. Additional information on this award is available on the award website: www.pulitzer.org