The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical compositions. It is administered by Columbia University in New York City.
Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories. In twenty of these, the winners received a $10,000 cash award and a certificate. The winner in the Public Service category of the Journalism competition was awarded a gold medal; the Public Service prize is always awarded to a newspaper, not an individual, although an individual may be named in the citation.
The prize was established by Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian-American journalist and newspaper publisher, who left money to Columbia University upon his death in 1911. Part of the bequest was used to begin the university's journalism school in 1912. The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded on June 4, 1917, and they are now announced each April. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board.
Categories and Winners
There are six categories in letters and drama:
Fiction — for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.
