Pulitzer Prince Winners Announced

[Mister Tee]

Geez, you'd think Dana Priest and Anne Hull were shoo-ins for exposing Walter Reed.

I'd thought so, too. One of two possibilities:

1) They don't want Priest to "repeat" (on top of her NSA spying story from last year)

Or, more likely:

2) The Walter Reed story came too late for this year's submission deadine, and will be in next year's batch.

[FilmFan720]

I haven't read The Road yet, but have desperately wanted to. Maybe now I will get around to it.

I just saw Rabbit Hole at The Goodman Theatre last week, and it is a very strong piece. I don't know if it is Pulitzer-worthy, but they could have done much worse.

[Okri]

The Road is a masterpiece. I'm so glad it won.

[Sonic Youth]

Geez, you'd think Dana Priest and Anne Hull were shoo-ins for exposing Walter Reed.

Is this the first time a jazz piece has won the Music category? (Marsalis doesn't count.)

Is it the first time a recording has won, rather than a piece that premiered at a live venue?

Is this the first time a food critic has won? Yeah, a food critic?

[dws1982]

I actually thought it was from the Pulitzer site, which is why it seemed so strange to me. From the NY Times, it makes more sense.

[Akash]

Oops, sorry dws. I forgot to include the link I got this from. This was all from the NY Times. None of it is my commentary.

[dws1982]

DRAMA: 'Rabbit Hole,' by David Lindsay-Abaire
This wrenching play by David Lindsay-Abaire includes some of the most revealingly nuanced acting to be seen on a stage or screen this year.

That's all fine, but what does the fact that it includes nuanced acting have to do with it as a piece of writing?

---
The Birmingham News award for Investigative Reporting was well deserved. There's an endless supply of corruption in Alabama for investigative journalists to uncover.

[Akash]

You can go to the official website for the nominated finalists if you want.

http://www.pulitzer.org/

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced on Monday. Following are the winners in Letters, Drama and Music.

FICTION: 'The Road,' by Cormac McCarthy
The subject of Cormac McCarthy’s new novel is as big as it gets: the end of the civilized world, the dying of life on the planet and the spectacle of it all.

* Review (October 8, 2006)
* Featured Author: Cormac McCarthy

GENERAL NONFICTION: 'The Looming Tower,' by Lawrence Wright
Lawrence Wright offers a detailed, heart-stopping account of the events leading up to 9/11, carried along by villains and heroes that only a crime novelist could dream up.

* Review (August 6, 2006)
* First Chapter

BIOGRAPHY: 'The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher,' by Debby Applegate
The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, an eloquent champion of abolition and woman suffrage, became a celebrity of a far less exalted kind as a result of a sex scandal.

* Review (July 16, 2006)

HISTORY: 'The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation,' by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff
After ignoring the story for years, the news media came to play a major role in the struggle for civil rights.

* Review (Jan. 21, 2007)
* First Chapter

POETRY: 'Native Guard,' by Natasha Trethewey
In her introduction to Trethewey's book "Domestic Work," Rita Dove said, "Trethewey eschews the Polaroid instant, choosing to render the unsuspecting yearnings and tremulous hopes that accompany our most private thoughts." (poets.org)

* Profile (poets.org)
* Video (southernspaces.org)

DRAMA: 'Rabbit Hole,' by David Lindsay-Abaire
This wrenching play by David Lindsay-Abaire includes some of the most revealingly nuanced acting to be seen on a stage or screen this year.

* Review (February 3, 2006)
* Audio Slide Show: Grief and Laughter

MUSIC: 'Sound Grammar,' by Ornette Coleman
This breathtaking concert recording captures the alto saxophonist and his quartet at the height of their humanistic powers.

* Review (December 24, 2006)
* Listening With Ornette Coleman (September 22, 2006)

SPECIAL CITATIONS: Ray Bradbury and John Coltrane

PUBLIC SERVICE
The Wall Street Journal
For its creative and comprehensive probe into backdated stock options for business executives that triggered investigations, the ouster of top officials and widespread change in corporate America.
Finalists: Brett Blackledge of The Birmingham (Ala.) News; The Washington Post

BREAKING NEWS REPORTING
The Staff of The Oregonian
For its skillful and tenacious coverage of a family missing in the Oregon mountains, telling the tragic story both in print and online.
Finalists: The Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky., The Staff of The Denver Post

LOCAL REPORTING
Debbie Cenziper of The Miami Herald
For reports on waste, favoritism and lack of oversight at the Miami housing agency that resulted in dismissals, investigations and prosecutions.
Finalists: The Staff of The Boston Globe; Fred Schulte and June Arney of The Baltimore Sun

NATIONAL REPORTING
Charlie Savage of The Boston Globe
for his revelations that President Bush often used "signing statements" to assert his controversial right to bypass provisions of new laws.
Finalists: Maurice Possley and Steve Mills of the Chicago Tribune; Les Zaitz, Jeff Kosseff and Bryan Denson of The Oregonian

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
Brett Blackledge of The Birmingham (Ala.) News
or his exposure of cronyism and corruption in the state's two-year college system, resulting in the dismissal of the chancellor and other corrective action.
Finalists: Ken Armstrong, Justin Mayo and Steve Miletich of The Seattle Times; Michael J. Berens, Julia Sommerfeld and Carol Ostrom of The Seattle Times; and Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman of The Hartford Courant

EXPLANATORY REPORTING
Kenneth R. Weiss, Usha Lee McFarling and Rick Loomis of the Los Angeles Times
For their richly portrayed reports on the world's distressed oceans, telling the story in print and online, and stirring reaction among readers and officials.
Finalists: Joanne Kimberlin and Bill Sizemore of The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk; The Staff of The New York Times

INTERNATIONAL REPORTING
The Staff of The Wall Street Journal
For its sharply edged reports on the adverse impact of China's booming capitalism on conditions ranging from inequality to pollution.
Finalists: The Staff of the Los Angeles Times; Anthony Shadid of The Washington Post

FEATURE WRITING
Andrea Elliott of The New York Times
For her intimate, richly textured portrait of an immigrant imam striving to find his way and serve his faithful in America.
Finalists: Christopher Goffard of the St. Petersburg Times; Inara Verzemnieks of The Oregonian

COMMENTARY
Cynthia Tucker of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For her courageous, clear-headed columns that evince a strong sense of morality and persuasive knowledge of the community.
Finalists: Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post; Joe Nocera of The New York Times

CRITICISM
Jonathan Gold of LA Weekly
For his zestful, wide ranging restaurant reviews, expressing the delight of an erudite eater.
Finalists: Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times; Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times

EDITORIAL WRITING
Editorial Board of the New York Daily News
For its compassionate and compelling editorials on behalf of Ground Zero workers whose health problems were neglected by the city and the nation.
Finalists: Jane Healy of The Orlando Sentinel; Sebastian Mallaby of The Washington Post

BREAKING NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
Oded Balilty of The Associated Press
For his powerful photograph of a lone Jewish woman defying Israeli security forces as they remove illegal settlers in the West Bank.
Finalists: The Staff of the Associated Press; Michael Bryant of The Philadelphia Inquirer

FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
Renée C. Byer of The Sacramento Bee
For her intimate portrayal of a single mother and her young son as he loses his battle with cancer.
Finalists: Mary F. Calvert of The Washington Times; Gary Coronado of The Palm Beach Post

EDITORIAL CARTOONING
Walt Handelsman of Newsday, Long Island, N.Y.
For his stark, sophisticated cartoons and his impressive use of zany animation.
Finalists: Nick Anderson of The Houston Chronicle; Mike Thompson of the Detroit Free Press