Pulitzer Prize

About eight years ago, the Canadian novelist Susan Swan looked into the research about how female writers compared with male ones when it came to literary prizes and coverage. She was shocked by what she found.

"I thought it was going to be a happy progress report," she said in an interview. "Instead it was a bad news day."  Read more

Yesterday, the centennial Pulitzer Prize Award winners were announced, celebrating writers across multiple genres-and possibly paving the way for future profit. Among the winners of the prestigious award were a few surprises and one no-brainer: Hamilton earned writer and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda the drama award.

No one denies that Donna Tartt has written the "It novel" of the year, a runaway best-seller that won her the Pulitzer Prize. But some of the self-appointed high priests of literary criticism-at The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, and The Paris Review-are deeply dismayed by The Goldfinch and its success.