Pulitzer Prize: Fiction

Christchurch City Libraries lists literary prize winners and links to catalogue searches, but we may not hold copies of all titles mentioned.

The Pulitzer Prizes are annual awards for achievements in American journalism, letters, drama and music. The prizes have been awarded by the Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University since 1917.

The Fiction award was redefined from "novels" to "fiction in book form" in 1947. We list all winners since 1948.

See the other Pulitzer Prize categories winners and all the other literary prize winners we list.

2024

• Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips Winner

• Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park  

• Wednesday’s Child by Yiyun Li

2023

• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Winner

• Trust by Hernan Diaz Winner (two prizes awarded this year)

• The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara

2022

• The Netanyahus:An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family by Joshua Cohen Winner
• Monkey Boy by Francisco Goldman
• Palmares by Gayl Jone

2021

• The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich Winner
• A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth Daniel Mason
• Telephone Percival Everett

2020

• The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead Winner
• The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett
• The Topeka School, by Ben Lerner

2019

• The Overstory Richard Powers Winner
• The Great Believers Rebecca Makkai 
• There There Tommy Orange 

2018

• Less Andrew Sean Greer Winner
• In the Distance Hernan Diaz 
• The Idiot Elif Batuman 

2017

• The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead Winner
• Imagine Me Gone  Adam Haslett
• The Sport of Kings C. E. Morgan

2016

• The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen Winner
• Get in Trouble: Stories Kelly Link
• Maud's Line Margaret Verble

2015

• All the light we cannot see Anthony Doerr Winner
• Let me be frank with you Richard Ford
• The Moor's account Laila Lalami
• Lovely, dark, deep Joyce Carol Oates

2014

• The goldfinch Donna Tartt Winner
• The son Philipp Meyer
• The woman who lost her soul Bob Shacochis

2013

• The orphan master's son Adam Johnson Winner
• What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank Nathan Englander
• The snow child Eowyn Ivey

2012

• No award. The finalists were:
  • Train dreams Denis Johnson
  • Swamplandia! Karen Russell
  • The pale king David Foster Wallace

2011

• A visit from the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan

2010

• Tinkers Paul Harding

2009

• Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout

2008

• The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao Junot Diaz

2007

• The road Cormac McCarthy

2006

• March Geraldine Brooks

2005

• Gilead Marilynne Robinson

2004

• The known world Edward P. Jones

2003

• Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides

2002

• Empire Falls Richard Russo

2001

• The amazing adventures of Kavalier & Clay Michael Chabon

2000

• Interpreter of maladies Jhumpa Lahiri

1999

• The hours Michael Cunningham

1998

• American pastoral Philip Roth

1997

• Martin Dressler Steven Millhauser

1996

• Independence Day Richard Ford

1995

• Stone diaries Carol Shields

1994

• Shipping news E. Annie Proulx

1993

• A good scent from a strange mountain Robert Olen Butler

1992

• A thousand acres Jane Smiley

1991

• Rabbit at rest John Updike

1990

• The Mambo Kings play songs of love Oscar Hijuelos

1989

• Breathing lessons Anne Tyler

1988

• Beloved Toni Morrison

1987

• A summons to Memphis Peter Taylor

1986

• Lonesome dove Larry McMurtry

1985

• Foreign affairs Alison Lurie

1984

• Ironweed William Kennedy

1983

• The color purple Alice Walker

1982

• Rabbit is rich John Updike

1981

• Confederacy of dunces John Kennedy Toole

1980

• The executioner's song Norman Mailer

1979

• Stories of John Cheever John Cheever

1978

• Elbow room James Alan McPherson

1977

• No award

1976

• Humboldt's gift Saul Bellow

1975

• Killer angels Michael Shaara

1974

• No award

1973

• The optimist's daughter Eudora Welty

1972

• Angle of repose Wallace Stegner

1971

• No award

1970

• Collected stories Jean Stafford

1969

• House made of dawn N. Scott Momaday

1968

• The confessions of Nat Turner William Styron

1967

• The fixer Bernard Malamud

1966

• Collected stories Katherine Anne Porter

1965

• Keepers of the house Shirley Ann Grau

1964

• No award

1963

• The Reivers William Faulkner

1962

• The edge of sadness Edwin O'Connor

1961

• To kill a mockingbird Harper Lee

1960

• Advise and consent Allen Drury

1959

• The travels of Jaimie McPheeters Robert Lewis Taylor

1958

• A death in the family James Agee

1957

• No award

1956

• Andersonville MacKinlay Kantor

1955

• A fable William Faulkner

1954

• No award

1953

• The old man and the sea Ernest Hemingway

1952

• The Caine Mutiny Herman Wouk

1951

• The town Conrad Richter

1950

• The way west A. B. Guthrie

1949

• Guard of honor James Gould Cozzens

1948

• Tales of the South Pacific James A. Michener