News | Penguin Random House | New York, 04/16/2014

Penguin Random House Celebrates Pulitzers

In the past years, Penguin and Random House authors have won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize more than 120 times. Now this time-honored tradition continues in the combined company: American author Donna Tartt has been honored with the major U.S. journalism and media prize (Fiction) for her novel "The Goldfinch." In Germany, “Der Distelfink” is published by Goldmann in hardcover and e-book, and Hörverlag publishes an audiobook version. In Spain and Latin America, Grupo Editorial’s Lumen imprint publishes it under the title “El Jilguero.” In the General Non-Fiction category, the American journalist and author Dan Fagin Pulitzer won a Pulitzer for “Toms River - A Story of Science and Salvation,” published in the U.S. and Canada by Bantam.

”I am incredibly happy and incredibly honored,” said bestselling author Donna Tartt in New York. And Goldmann publisher Georg Reuchlein said: “I am absolutely thrilled for Donna Tartt. The award is well deserved. ‘Der Distelfink’ is one of the best books to be published in recent years. Up-to-the-minute yet told in a truly classic style.”

The award for “Toms River” marks the first time a book published by Bantam has won a Pulitzer Prize. In his book Dan Figan skillfully combines investigative reporting and historical research to explore the relationship between childhood cancer and water and air pollution along the coastline of a small town in New Jersey, write the judges.

“Toms River” is based on the true story of the eponymous municipality whose citizens spent decades waging and ultimately winning a legal battle against industrial pollution caused in their immediate vicinity. Since the 1950s, a large chemicals plant had illegally dumped tens of thousands of barrels of acidic wastewater, which eventually found its way into the local river – the Toms River. In his book, Dan Fagin crafts this into a story about the scientists who were the firsts to identify pollution as a cause of cancer, and brings it to life by personal fates.

Since 1917, the Pulitzer Prize is awarded annually to outstanding writers, journalists and authors. The prizes are now awarded in 22 categories – including a special award – and each come with a $10,000 purse.