Pulitzer Prize Luncheon

The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards for achievements in journalism, literature, theatre, and music. It was established in 1917 according to the will of Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian-born American publisher. The winners of the Pulitzer Prize are announced in April, and the prizes are usually awarded at a luncheon in late May.

Joseph Pulitzer was a New York-based newspaper publisher and politician. He is credited with popularizing yellow journalism (a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news). Pulitzer died in 1911 and left Columbia University 2 million dollars in his will.

The university used the money to found the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and to establish prizes in journalism and the arts, as requested by Pulitzer in his will. The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in June 1917.

The Pulitzer Prize is awarded for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, drama, and musical composition. As of 2018, there are 21 Pulitzer categories divided into two groups: Journalism and Letters, Drama & Music. The first group comprises 14 categories (Public Service, Breaking News Reporting, Investigative Reporting, Explanatory Reporting, Local Reporting, National Reporting, International Reporting, Feature Writing, Commentary, Criticism, Editorial Writing, Editorial Cartooning, Breaking News Photography, Feature Photography) and the second group is made up of the remaining seven categories (Fiction, Drama, History, Biography, Poetry, General Nonfiction, Music).

In twenty of the categories, each winner is awarded a $15,000 cash prize and a certificate. The winner in the Public Service category receives a gold medal. The Public Service award can be only given to a news organization (a newspaper, magazine or website). It is often considered to be the grand prize.

The nominees in the 21 award categories are selected by 20 separate juries, one for each category except for both photography categories that have one jury. The winner in each category is selected by the Pulitzer Prize Board by majority vote.

The names of the winners are announced in April, and the Prizes are usually awarded at a luncheon on the Columbia University campus in late May. The only exception was the Centennial year: the 2016 Prizes were awarded at a dinner in October. The first luncheon was held in 1984. Before that, certificates, checks and medals were mailed to the winners.