2011 Pulitzer Prize
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Pulitzer Prize
s were announced on Monday, April 18, 2011. The Los Angeles Times won two prizes, including the highest honor for Public Service
. The New York Times
also won two awards. No prize was handed out in the Breaking News
category. The Wall Street Journal
won an award for the first time since 2007. Jennifer Egan
's A Visit From the Goon Squad
picked up the Fiction
prize after already winning the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award
. Photographer Carol Guzy
of The Washington Post
became the first journalist to win four Pulitzer Prizes.
In December 2010, three rules changes were revealed for the 2011 Awards. The first allows print and online outlets that publish at least weekly to use a number of media to report the news "including text reporting, videos, databases, multimedia or interactive presentations or any combination of those formats". The second rule change allows up to five people to be named in an award citation; the previous limit was three. The final rule change allows for digital submission of images to the judges in the two photography categories.
Below, the winner(s) in each category are listed.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
s were announced on Monday, April 18, 2011. The Los Angeles Times won two prizes, including the highest honor for Public Service
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service has been awarded since 1918 for a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalistic resources. Those resources, as well as reporting, may include editorials, cartoons, photographs, graphics,...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
also won two awards. No prize was handed out in the Breaking News
Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting
The Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting is a Pulitzer Prize awarded for a distinguished example of breaking news, local reporting on news of the moment...
category. The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
won an award for the first time since 2007. Jennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan is an American novelist and short story writer who lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Egan's novel A Visit From the Goon Squad won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction....
's A Visit From the Goon Squad
A Visit From the Goon Squad
A Visit From the Goon Squad is a work of fiction by American author Jennifer Egan. It won the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...
picked up the Fiction
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...
prize after already winning the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
. Photographer Carol Guzy
Carol Guzy
Carol Guzy is a four-time Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post photographer.-Life and career:Guzy grew up in a working-class family in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania....
of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
became the first journalist to win four Pulitzer Prizes.
In December 2010, three rules changes were revealed for the 2011 Awards. The first allows print and online outlets that publish at least weekly to use a number of media to report the news "including text reporting, videos, databases, multimedia or interactive presentations or any combination of those formats". The second rule change allows up to five people to be named in an award citation; the previous limit was three. The final rule change allows for digital submission of images to the judges in the two photography categories.
Below, the winner(s) in each category are listed.
Journalism
- Pulitzer Prize for Public ServicePulitzer Prize for Public ServiceThe Pulitzer Prize for Public Service has been awarded since 1918 for a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalistic resources. Those resources, as well as reporting, may include editorials, cartoons, photographs, graphics,...
to the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
"for its exposure of corruption in the small California city of Bell, where officials tapped the treasury to pay themselves exorbitant salaries, resulting in arrests and reforms."
- Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News ReportingPulitzer Prize for Breaking News ReportingThe Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting is a Pulitzer Prize awarded for a distinguished example of breaking news, local reporting on news of the moment...
was not awarded.
- Pulitzer Prize for Investigative ReportingPulitzer Prize for Investigative ReportingThe Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting has been awarded since 1953, under one name or another, for a distinguished example of investigative reporting by an individual or team, presented as a single article or series in print journalism...
to Paige St. JohnPaige St. JohnPaige St. John is a American journalist for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. St. John was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, the Herald Tribunes first: -Life:...
(Sarasota Herald-TribuneSarasota Herald-TribuneThe Sarasota Herald-Tribune is a daily newspaper located in Sarasota, Florida.It is owned by The New York Times Company, who purchased it in 1982, and part of its regional news group. Along with Comcast, the newspaper operates a local 24-hour...
) "for her examination of weaknesses in the murky property-insurance system vital to Florida homeowners, providing handy data to assess insurer reliability and stirring regulatory action."
- Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory ReportingPulitzer Prize for Explanatory ReportingThe Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear presentation...
to Mark JohnsonMark JohnsonMark Johnson may refer to:Academics*Mark Johnson , philosophy professor*Mark H. Johnson , developmental neuroscience professorSports*In baseball:**Mark Johnson...
, Kathleen Gallagher, Gary PorterGary PorterFor the footballer see Gary Porter Gary Porter is a monster truck driver that races on the USHRA circuit. He is currently a member of the Grave Digger team.-History:...
, Lou Saldivar, and Alison Sherwood (Milwaukee Journal SentinelMilwaukee Journal SentinelThe Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...
) "for their lucid examination of an epic effort to use genetic technology to save a 4-year-old boy imperiled by a mysterious disease, told with words, graphics, videos and other images."
- Pulitzer Prize for Local ReportingPulitzer Prize for Local ReportingThe Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting is awarded to an example of "local reporting that illuminates significant issues or concerns." This Pulitzer Prize was first awarded in 1948. Like most Pulitzers the winner receives a $10,000 award.-History:...
to Frank MainFrank Main- Early life :Main was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey on September 8, 1964. He grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, graduating from Bishop Kelley High School in 1982. He then matriculated at Emory University in Georgia...
, Mark KonkolMark Konkol- Early life and education :Konkol was born and raised in Chicago's south suburbs. He graduated in 1991 from Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois. He then attended Culver–Stockton College for two years, where he was a starting lineman for the Wildcats football team...
, and John J. Kim (Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
) "for their immersive documentation of violence in Chicago neighborhoods, probing the lives of victims, criminals and detectives as a widespread code of silence impedes solutions."
- Pulitzer Prize for National ReportingPulitzer Prize for National ReportingThe Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting has been awarded since 1948 for a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs. The Pulitzer Committee issues an official citation explaining the reasons for the award....
to Jesse Eisinger and Jake BernsteinJake BernsteinJake Bernstein is President of Network Press, Inc. in Santa Cruz, California. Bernstein claims expertise in seasonal trading and has developed methods of trading in futures markets, and has been a featured speaker at many investment conferences and trading seminars.-Publisher and author:Bernstein...
ProPublicaProPublicaProPublica is a non-profit corporation based in New York City. It describes itself as an independent non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. In 2010 it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its...
"for their exposure of questionable practices on Wall Street that contributed to the nation's economic meltdown, using digital tools to help explain the complex subject to lay readers."
- Pulitzer Prize for International ReportingPulitzer Prize for International ReportingThis Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on international affairs, including United Nations correspondence. In its first six years , it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting - International...
to Clifford J. LevyClifford J. LevyClifford J. Levy is an investigative journalist for The New York Times.Levy is a graduate of New Rochelle High School and Princeton University in 1989....
and Ellen BarryEllen BarryEllen Barry is a New Zealand professional tennis player. Her career high WTA singles ranking was 253, which she reached on 26 May 2008.-Singles Runner Up :* 2010 - $10k Innsbruck, Austria* 2008 - $25k Kalgoorlie, Australia...
(The New York Times) "for their dogged reporting that put a human face on the faltering justice system in Russia, remarkably influencing the discussion inside the country."
- Pulitzer Prize for Feature WritingPulitzer Prize for Feature WritingThe Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing has been awarded since 1979 for a distinguished example of feature writing giving prime consideration to high literary quality and originality. The Pulitzer Committee issues an official citation explaining the reasons for the award.-List of winners and their...
to Amy Ellis Nutt (The Star-LedgerThe Star-LedgerThe Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
, Newark, N.J.) "for her deeply probing story of the mysterious sinking of a commercial fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean that drowned six men."
- Pulitzer Prize for CommentaryPulitzer Prize for CommentaryThe Pulitzer Prize for Commentary has been awarded since 1970. The Pulitzer Committee issues an official citation explaining the reasons for the award.-List of winners and their official citations:...
to David LeonhardtDavid LeonhardtDavid Leonhardt is the Washington bureau chief of The New York Times. He joined The Times in 1999 and wrote the "Economics Scene" column, and for the Times Sunday Magazine. Before coming to The Times, he wrote for Business Week and The Washington Post...
(The New York Times) "for his graceful penetration of America's complicated economic questions, from the federal budget deficit to health care reform."
- Pulitzer Prize for CriticismPulitzer Prize for CriticismThe Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board and officially administered by Columbia University...
to Sebastian SmeeSebastian SmeeSebastian Smee is an Australian Pulitzer Prize-winning arts critic for The Boston Globe. Educated at St Peter's College in Adelaide where he excelled Smee graduated from The University of Sydney with an Honours degree in Fine Art in 1994 and moved to Boston in 2008, having also lived in the UK...
(The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
) "for his vivid and exuberant writing about art, often bringing great works to life with love and appreciation."
- Pulitzer Prize for Editorial WritingPulitzer Prize for Editorial WritingThe Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, moral purpose, sound reasoning, and power to influence public opinion in what the writer conceives to be the right direction...
to Joseph Rago (The Wall Street Journal) "for his well crafted, against-the-grain editorials challenging the health care reform advocated by President Obama."
- Pulitzer Prize for Editorial CartooningPulitzer Prize for Editorial CartooningThe Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning has been awarded since 1922 for a distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing, and pictorial effect...
to Mike KeefeMike KeefeMike Keefe is an American editorial cartoonist best known for his work at the Denver Post, for which he has drawn cartoons since 1975. His cartoons are nationally syndicated, and have appeared in hundreds of newspapers as well as in Europe, Asia, and most major U.S...
(The Denver PostThe Denver Post-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
) "for his widely ranging cartoons that employ a loose, expressive style to send strong, witty messages."
- Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News PhotographyPulitzer Prize for Breaking News PhotographyThe Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography, has been awarded since 2000. Before 1968, there was only one photography category, the Pulitzer Prize for Photography, which was divided into the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography and feature categories...
to Carol GuzyCarol GuzyCarol Guzy is a four-time Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post photographer.-Life and career:Guzy grew up in a working-class family in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania....
, Nikki Kahn, and Ricky Carioti (The Washington Post) "for their up-close portrait of grief and desperation after a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti."
- Pulitzer Prize for Feature PhotographyPulitzer Prize for Feature PhotographyThe Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography has been awarded since 1968 for a distinguished example of feature photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or photographs, a sequence or an album....
to Barbara Davidson (Los Angeles Times) "for her intimate story of innocent victims trapped in the city's crossfire of deadly gang violence."
Letters, Drama and Music
- Pulitzer Prize for FictionPulitzer Prize for FictionThe Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...
to A Visit From the Goon SquadA Visit From the Goon SquadA Visit From the Goon Squad is a work of fiction by American author Jennifer Egan. It won the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...
by Jennifer EganJennifer EganJennifer Egan is an American novelist and short story writer who lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Egan's novel A Visit From the Goon Squad won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction....
, "an inventive investigation of growing up and growing old in the digital age, displaying a big-hearted curiosity about cultural change at warp speed."
- Pulitzer Prize for DramaPulitzer Prize for DramaThe Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
to Clybourne ParkClybourne ParkClybourne Park is a 2010 play by Bruce Norris written in response to Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun portraying fictional events set before and after the play and loosely based on real life events. The premiere took place in February 2010 at Playwrights Horizons in New York. The play...
by Bruce NorrisBruce Norris (playwright)Bruce Norris is an American actor and playwright associated with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. On April 18, 2011 Norris was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Clybourne Park...
, "a powerful work whose memorable characters speak in witty and perceptive ways to America's sometimes toxic struggle with race and class consciousness."
- Pulitzer Prize for HistoryPulitzer Prize for HistoryThe Pulitzer Prize for History has been awarded since 1917 for a distinguished book upon the history of the United States. Many history books have also been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction and Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography...
to The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric FonerEric FonerEric Foner is an American historian. On the faculty of the Department of History at Columbia University since 1982, he writes extensively on political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African American biography, Reconstruction, and historiography...
, "a well orchestrated examination of Lincoln's changing views of slavery, bringing unforeseeable twists and a fresh sense of improbability to a familiar story."
- Pulitzer Prize for Biography to Washington: A Life by Ron ChernowRon ChernowRonald Chernow is an American biographer. He is the author of Washington: A Life, Alexander Hamilton, The House of Morgan, and Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., among other works...
, "a sweeping, authoritative portrait of an iconic leader learning to master his private feelings in order to fulfill his public duties."
- Pulitzer Prize for PoetryPulitzer Prize for PoetryThe Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
to The Best of It: New and Selected Poems by Kay RyanKay RyanKay Ryan is an American poet and educator. She has published seven volumes of poetry and an anthology of selected and new poems. Ryan was the sixteenth United States Poet Laureate, from 2008 to 2010...
, "a body of work spanning 45 years, witty, rebellious and yet tender, a treasure trove of an iconoclastic and joyful mind."
- Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction to The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha MukherjeeSiddhartha MukherjeeSiddhartha Mukherjee is an Indian-born American physician, scientist and writer. He authored the 2010 book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction...
, "an elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science."
- Pulitzer Prize for MusicPulitzer Prize for MusicThe Pulitzer Prize for Music was first awarded in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer did not call for such a prize in his will, but had arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year...
to Zhou LongZhou LongZhou Long is a Pulitzer-prize-winning Chinese American composer.-Biography:Born into an artistic family, Zhou Long began studying piano from an early age. Due to the artistic restrictions implemented during the Cultural Revolution, he was forced to delay his piano studies and live on a state-run...
for Madame White SnakeMadame White SnakeThe Legend of the White Snake, also known as Madame White Snake, is a Chinese legend, which existed as oral traditions before any written compilation...
(libretto by Cerise Lim Jacobs), "a deeply expressive opera that draws on a Chinese folk tale to blend the musical traditions of the East and the West".
External links
- "2011 Pulitzer Prizes for Journalism". The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. - "2011 Pulitzer Prizes for Letters, Drama and Music". The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.