Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during the preceding calendar year.

As the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel (awarded 1918–1947), it was one of the original Pulitzers; the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were awarded that year (no Novel prize was awarded in 1917, the first one having been granted in 1918).

The name was changed to the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948 and eligibility was expanded to the broader "distinguished fiction published in book form". The Advisory Board wanted to give the award to James A. Michener's Tales of the South Pacific, which required expanding the category criteria and lifting the ban on short stories.

Finalists have been announced since 1980, usually a total of three.

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