News | Penguin Random House | New York, 05/10/2023

Four Pulitzer Prizes For Penguin Random House Authors

Four (!) Penguin Random House authors were honored with Pulitzer Prizes this year. They won in the categories “Fiction,” “Biography,” “Memoir or Autobiography,” and “General Nonfiction. Since the inaugural Pulitzer was awarded in 1917, a total of 137 Penguin Random House authors have won the prestigious prize.

What a fabulous success for Penguin Random House, and a continuation of a fine tradition that goes back more than 100 years! When this year’s Pulitzer Prize winners were announced on Monday at Columbia University in New York, four Penguin Random House authors were among the laureates. They are Hernan Diaz, Beverly Gage, Hua Hsu, Robert Samuels, and Toluse Olorunnipa.

In the “Fiction” category, the coveted prize went to “Trust” by Hernan Diaz (Riverhead Books/Penguin Audio), edited by Sarah McGrath. The judges write: “A riveting novel set in a bygone America that explores family, wealth and ambition through linked narratives rendered in different literary styles, a complex examination of love and power in a country where capitalism is king.”

“G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century” by Beverly Gage (Viking/Penguin Audio), edited by Wendy Wolf, won the Pulitzer Prize for “Biography.” The judges commented as follows: “A deeply researched and nuanced look at one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history that depicts the longtime FBI director in all his complexity, with monumental achievements and crippling flaws.”

The inaugural Pulitzer Prize for “Memoir or Autobiography,” a category that made its debut this year, went to „Stay True” by Hua Hsu (Doubleday/Random House Audio), edited by Thomas Gebremedhin. The judges had this to say about the book: “An elegant and poignant coming of age account that considers intense, youthful friendships but also random violence that can suddenly and permanently alter the presumed logic of our personal narratives.”

And finally, the “General Nonfiction” prize went to “His Name is George Floyd” by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa (Viking/Penguin Audio), edited by Ibrahim Ahmad. The judges write: “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.” This work was moved from the Biography category by the Pulitzer Board.

Since 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism, Arts, and Letters have been awarded annually by the Pulitzer School of Journalism at New York’s Columbia University – today, the prizes are given out in 23 categories. Seven of these categories are dedicated to books, and Penguin Random House authors have been honored with the prestigious award no fewer than 137 times over the decades. They include many such well-known names as William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, John Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, and Colson Whitehead, who won the award twice.