Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were awarded that year. (No Drama prize was given, however, so that one was inaugurated in 1918, in a sense.) It recognizes a theatrical work staged in the U.S. during the preceding calendar year.

Joseph Pulitzer stipulated that the Pulitzer Prize for Drama should be awarded, “…“Annually, for the original American play, performed in New York, which shall best represent the educational value and power of the stage in raising the standard of good morals, good taste, and good manners." The original prize was $1,000.

Until 2007, eligibility for the Drama Prize ran from March 1 to March 2 to reflect the Broadway "season" rather than the calendar year that governed most other Pulitzer Prizes.

The drama jury is composed of four members and a chair. Typically, these are three or four critics, complemented by academics or playwrights. The jury reviews scripts submitted by New York and regional theater productions, taking the production of the play into account. The jury makes recommendations to the Pulitzer board, which the board is not required to accept. This can result in the prize being awarded to another play, or in no prize being awarded.