How Many American Authors Have Won the Pulitzer Prize?
- schlesadv
- 12 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Hundreds of American writers and journalists have won the Pulitzer Prize since its inception in 1917
Breakdown by Book and Drama Categories
Every year, a dedicated jury selects one winner for each category (though the board occasionally opts for "no award" in a given year). Across more than 108 years of history, roughly 700 to 750 distinct authors have won in the following creative writing fields:
Fiction (formerly Novel): Over 100 winners, including legendary American voices like Ernest Hemingway, Harper Lee, and Toni Morrison.
Drama: Over 100 playwrights honored for theatrical scripts, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Arthur Miller, and Eugene O'Neill.
History: Well over 100 non-fiction authors awarded for exceptional books documenting the history of the United States.
Biography or Autobiography: Over 100 writers recognized for documenting impactful life stories.
Poetry: Over 100 poets celebrated since the category's official inclusion in 1922.
General Nonfiction: More than 60 winners since the category was established in 1962.
Memoir or Autobiography: Formally separated into its own modern category to honor personal memoirs.
Multi-Time Pulitzer Winners
While most authors only win once, a handful of exceptional American writers have claimed the prize multiple times:
Eugene O'Neill: Won 4 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama.
Robert Frost: Won 4 Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.
Robert Sherwood: Won 4 prizes total (three in Drama, one in Biography).
Edward Albee: Won 3 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama.
Carl Sandburg: Won 3 prizes (two in Poetry, one in History).
Colson Whitehead: One of only four novelists to win the Fiction prize twice, and the first to do so for consecutive books (The Underground Railroad in 2017 and The Nickel Boys in 2020).
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