2012: No winner
This year is infamous in recent literary history, because something truly unusual happened: The Pulitzer board refused to name a winner. The 2012 jury members – Maureen Corrigan, Michael Cunningham, and Susan Larson – read 300 books over many months, ultimately deciding to give the board three recommended books: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, and The Pale King, a posthumously published book by David Foster Wallace. The board deliberated and declined to name a winner, stating that they could not arrive at a majority vote on any of the novels – the first time no fiction prize was awarded since 1977.
Originally Published
