Awards. Awards. Awards. My kingdom for an award. Oh, wait, that doesn't sound right. There are hundreds of awards for fiction. The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is definitely in the top ten on the importance list. I've pronounced it Pew-lit-sir for years but it's actually pronounced "Pull-it-sir." Unfortunately, the majority of the public never hears about the best fiction awards because of the lack of media attention, that is of course unless one of them is made into a movie and makes it to the Academy Awards (Oscars).

The Pulitzer Prize for a Novel was started by newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer in 1917 and in 1947 it evolved into the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is awarded to an American author for a story dealing with American life. There are a number of different Pulitzers awarded besides fiction including photography, journalism, criticism, public service, letters, music and more; a total of twenty-one in all.

A short list of finalists is announced in April and the grand prize winners are announced at a luncheon in May. Along with the prestige of the award comes a $10,000 kitty and a certificate of recognition.

This annual literary award has been awarded to some talented authors over the years like: Pearl S. Buck (The Good Earth), John Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath) Carol Shields (The Stone Diaries), Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Geraldine Brooks (March). A complete winners list can be found in the Pulitzer Prize Reading List in the related links below.

Learn more about the Pulitzer Prize from the official website.

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M. E. Wood lives in Eastern Ontario, Canada. If you are going to find this eclectic reader and writer anywhere it is probably at her computer. For more information visit her official website.