Ernest Poole won the first Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the novel His Family, a quiet domestic drama about societal change. But did the wrong book win? … More Did the Wrong Book Win the First Pulitzer Prize for Fiction? A Pulitzer Prize Deep Dive on Ernest Poole’s ‘His Family’
Josephine Johnson is the youngest winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel Now in November, but her career mysteriously stalled. What happened? … More Was the Youngest Pulitzer Prize Winner Blacklisted? Now in November: A Pulitzer Prize Deep Dive
The Pulitzer Prizes were first given out in 1917 but the Fiction prize was withheld. Instead, it officially launched the following year. Why? … More The Origins of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (And Why There Was No Winner the First Year): A Pulitzer Prize Deep Dive
Andrew Sean Greer’s Less was a surprise winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Did it deserve to win? And what does that mean anyway? … More Is Less Secretly Toxic? And What Type of Book Deserves to Win Major Literary Prizes? The Case of Less (A Pulitzer Prize Deep Dive)
Toni Morrison won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Beloved, a novel about the ghosts of slavery. Is it worthy of the title Great American Novel? … More Can America Reckon With the Ghosts of Slavery? Beloved: A Pulitzer Prize Deep Dive
The literary world was shocked when no Pulitzer Prize for Fiction was awarded in 2012 despite the existence of three finalists. What happened? … More Do Book Prizes Owe Us a Winner Every Year? A Deep Dive into the Pulitzer Prize Controversy of 2012
Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, that classic saga of the American south, has been a beloved novel since it was first published. But is it inherently racist? … More Is Gone with the Wind Racist? A Pulitzer Prize Deep Dive
Is Larry McMurtry’s classic saga about a cattle drive from Texas to Montana the definitive American story? Or is its depiction of women, Native Americans, and the Old West problematic? … More Is Lonesome Dove the Great American Novel? A Pulitzer Prize Deep Dive
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