Carl Phillips, Robert Samuels, and Toluse Olorunnipa are among the winners at the Pulitzer Prize 2023 announced on May 8, 2023.
The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition held annually in the United States. It was established by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher and is administered by Columbia University. The prize, founded in 1917, is worth US$15,000 to winners in each of the categories awarded. Previous winners include William Faulkner, John Updike, and Colson Whitehead as well as Marcia Chatelain and Les Payne, and Tamara Payne. In 2022, the winners included Ada Ferrer and James Ijame.
The winners for 2023 were announced on Monday with the following writers of African descent winning in their category;
Poetry
Then the War: And Selected Poems, 2007-2020, by Carl Phillips (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
A masterful collection that chronicles American culture as the country struggles to make sense of its politics, of life in the wake of a pandemic, and of our place in a changing global community.
Carl Phillips tweeted in response: “Omg…Thx everyone for the kind words & good wishes! & for believing in my poems. Thx @fsgbooks @Carcanet! Thx to the judges @carolynforche @PaisleyRekdal @SherwinBitsui @accommodatingly & A Van Jordan! Thrilled & honored & pretty shocked! Thx Emily for keeping it real…”
General Nonfiction
His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice, by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa (Viking)
An intimate, riveting portrait of an ordinary man whose fatal encounter with police officers in 2020 sparked an international movement for social change, but whose humanity and complicated personal story were unknown. (Moved by the Board from the Biography category.)
Robert Samuels tweeted, “I won the Pulitzer Prize yesterday! I’m so thrilled and so humbled. I woke up this at 6 am to my proud Jamaican father calling people to tell them about it!”
Toluse Olorunnipa tweeted, “So thrilled to have won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction with @newsbysamuels for our book, His Name is George Floyd. Woah!!!”
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