For over a century, the Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded to American individuals and organizations who have excelled in the fields of journalism, letters and drama, and music. The Pulitzer Prizes are known as the most prestigious awards in their respective fields within the United States.
In the 107th Pulitzer Prizes, journalists from across the country were celebrated for their contributions to the field. The Associated Press was awarded two Pulitzers for its coverage of the war in Ukraine, including the most prestigious of all Pulitzers, the Public Service award.
The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times also won two Pulitzers each. Additionally, Alabama Media Group's AL.com, won two Pulitzers for Commentary and Local Reporting. The other Local Reporting Pulitzer went to Mississippi Today, in Ridgeland, Miss. Reporter Anna Wolfe's reporting revealed a former governor's corruption.
The New York Times won two Pulitzers for International Reporting and for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary. Caitlin Dickerson, who began her reporting career at NPR, won a Pulitzer for Explanatory Reporting for her work at The Atlantic, where she reported on migrant families separated at the southern border and the abuses many of them suffered.
This year, the fiction award was presented to two books, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Trust by Hernan Diaz. In an unusual but not unheard of decision, the General Nonfiction Pulitzer was given to His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, almost exactly three years after Floyd's murder.
The 2023 Pulitzer Prize winners for Journalism were as follows:
Public Service (1917-present)
Winner: Associated Press "for the work Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant, courageous reporting from the besieged city of Mariupol that bore witness to the slaughter of civilians in Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
Breaking News Reporting (1998-present)
Winner: Staff of the Los Angeles Times "for revealing a secret recorded conversation among city officials that included racist comments."
Investigative Reporting (1985-present)
Winner: Staff of The Wall Street Journal "for accountability reporting on financial conflicts of interest among officials and 50 federal agencies."
Explanatory Reporting (1998-present)
Winner: Caitlin Dickerson of The Atlantic "for reporting on the Trump administration policy that forcefully separated migrant children from their parents that resulted in abuses."
Local Reporting (1948-1952, 2007-present)
Winners: Two prizes were awarded in this category: John Archibald, Ashley Remkus, Ramsey Archibald and Challen Stephens of AL.com Birmingham were awarded the prize "for a series exposing how the police force in the town of Brookside preyed on residents to inflate revenue coverage the prompted the resignation of the police chief for new laws, and a state audit."
Anna Wolfe of Mississippi Today was awarded the prize "for reporting that revealed how a former Mississippi Governor used his office to steer millions of state welfare dollars to benefit his family and friends, including NFL quarterback Brett Farve."
National Reporting (1948-present)
Winner: Caroline Kitchener of The Washington Post for unflinching reporting that captured the complex consequences of life after Roe v. Wade, including the story of a Texas teenager who gave birth to twins after new restrictions denied her an abortion.
International Reporting (1948-present)
Winner: Staff of The New York Times "for their unflinching coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including an eight-month investigation into Ukrainian deaths in the town of Bucha and the Russian unit responsible for the killings."
Feature Writing (1979-present)
Winner: Eli Saslow of TheWashington Post "for evocative individual narratives about people struggling with the pandemic, homelessness, addiction, and inequality that collectively form of sharply observed portrait of contemporary America."
Commentary (1973-present)
Winner: Kyle Whitmire of AL.com, Birmingham "for measured and persuasive columns that document how Alabama's Confederate heritage still colors the present with racism and exclusion, told through tours of its first capitol, its mansions and monuments and through the history that has been omitted."
Criticism (1973-present)
Winner: Andrea Long Chu of New York Magazine "for book reviews that scrutinize authors as well as their works using multiple cultural lenses to explore some of society's most fraught topics."
Editorial Writing (1917-present)
Winner: Nancy Ancrum, Amy Driscoll, Luisa Yanez, Isadora Rangel, and Lauren Constantino of the the Miami Herald "for a series of editorials on the failure of Florida public officials to deliver on many taxpayer funded amenities and services, promised to residents over decades."
Winner: Mona Chalabi, contributor The New York Times, "for striking illustrations that combine statistical reporting with keen analysis to help readers understand the immense well and economic power of Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos."
Breaking News Photography (2000-present)
Winner: The photography staff of the Associated Press "for unique and urgent images from the first weeks of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the devastation of Mario Pol, after other news organizations left victims of the targeting of civilian infrastructure and the resilience of the Ukrainian people who were able to flee."
Feature Photography (1968-present)
Winner: Christina House of the Los Angeles Times "for an intimate look into the life of a pregnant 22-year-old woman living on the street and attend images that show her emotional vulnerability as she tries and ultimately loses the struggle to raise her child."
Audio Reporting (2020-present)
Winner: The staff of Gimlet Media, notably Connie Walker, "whose investigation into her father's troubled past revealed a larger story of abuse of hundreds of Indigenous children."