The Pulitzer Prize continues to honour excellence in journalism and the arts with their recently released 2021 awards list. Here are five Pulitzer Prize-winning books which are must-read masterpieces; just curl up in your nook and be enthralled by these riveting reads.
2021 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Inspired by her grandfather’s role in saving North Dakota’s Turtle Mountain Reservation, Author Louise Erdrich wrote the 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction to take readers back to the battle that stopped the displacement and elimination of several Native American tribes which occurred in the 1950s. A community tale for the ages, this is another riveting read by Erdrich—also check out The Round House when you’re done with this one.
2021 Pulitzer Prize for History
Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America by Marcia Chatelain
In a bid for truth, Marcia Chatelain wrote Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America. In it, she studies how the most recognisable fast food chain assisted Black entrepreneurs while simultaneously harming the African American public. Now a 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner in the History category, Franchise encapsulates the complications between Black businesses, the fight for civil rights and capitalism.
2021 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz
Exploring love and identity, Poet Natalie Diaz’s second poetry collection is a masterful discussion of territory, love and race in a postcolonial America. Through the use of various languages including her native tongue, she demands to be heard with important expressions regarding colour and sexuality. Just hear her story in Postcolonial Love Poem.
2021 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by the late Les Payne and Tamara Payne
A name almost synonymous with the civil rights movement in America, learn newly discovered facts about the life of African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X. With a minute-by-minute account of Malcolm X’s murder at the Audubon Ballroom as well as the exploration of his religious awakening, this award-winning biography is not to be missed.
2021 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy, by David Zucchino
This category’s award winner delves deep into the Wilmington insurrection of 1898. An event once labelled incorrectly as a race riot, Wilmington’s Lie rewrites and spotlights a forgotten chapter in history: an overthrow of a legitimately elected biracial government in North Carolina carried out by white supremacists.
