Pulitzer Prize awards special citation to American music critic Greg Tate and journalists in Gaza

This year's Pulitzer Prize jury has awarded the optional special citation award to the late African American musician, writer and critic Greg Tate.

The jury said that Tate's language was "cribbed from literature, academia, popular culture and hip-hop – was as influential as the content of his ideas. His aesthetic, innovations and intellectual originality, particularly in his pioneering hip-hip criticism, continue to influence subsequent generations, especially writers and critics of colour".

Along with recognising Tate's contribution to music criticism, the Pulitzer Prize recognised the journalist and media workers covering the war in Gaza.

The awarding body said: "In recent years the Pulitzer Board has issued citations honouring journalists covering wars in Ukraine and Afghanistan. This year, the Board recognises the courageous work of journalists and media workers covering the war in Gaza.

"Under horrific conditions, an extraordinary number of journalists have died in the effort to tell the stories of Palestinians and others in Gaza. This war has also claimed the lives of poets and writers among the casualties. As the Pulitzer Prizes honour categories of journalism, arts, and letters, we mark the loss of invaluable records of the human experience".

As well as the special citations the Pulitzer Prize issued its usual list of award in the categories of journalism, books, drama, and music.

The music prize was taken home by Tyshawn Sorey for 'Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith)', an unconventional concerto written for saxophone and orchestra.

Meanwhile the fiction award went to Jayne Anne Phillips for Night Watch, a tale about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the aftermath of the US Civil War.

The Journalism awards saw the New York Times and the Washington Post take home four prizes each while Reuters took home two awards.

The National reporting award was jointly awarded to the staff of Reuters and the staff at The Washington Post.

First awarded in 1917 after Hungarian American journalist Jospeh Pulitzer left a bequest to Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prize is awarded by an 18-member Pulitzer Board.

The jury is composed of thirteen journalists or news executives from media outlets across the U.S., as well as five academics or persons in the arts.

This year's full list of winners can be found below: 

Journalism: 

Public Service
ProPublica, for the work of Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, Brett Murphy, Alex Mierjeski and Kirsten Berg

Breaking News Reporting
Staff of Lookout Santa Cruz, California

Investigative Reporting
Hannah Dreier of The New York Times

Explanatory Reporting
Sarah Stillman of The New Yorker

Local Reporting
Sarah Conway of City Bureau and Trina Reynolds-Tyler of the Invisible Institute

National Reporting
Staff of Reuters

Staff of The Washington Post

International Reporting
Staff of The New York Times

Feature Writing
Katie Engelhart, contributing writer, The New York Times

Commentary
Vladimir Kara-Murza, contributor, The Washington Post

Criticism
Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times

Editorial Writing
David E. Hoffman of The Washington Post

Illustrated Reporting and Commentary
Medar de la Cruz, contributor, The New Yorker

Breaking News Photography
Photography Staff of Reuters

Feature Photography
Photography Staff of Associated Press

Audio Reporting
Staffs of the Invisible Institute and USG Audio

Books, Drama and Music

Fiction
“Night Watch,” by Jayne Anne Phillips (Knopf)

Drama
“Primary Trust,” by Eboni Booth

History
“No Right to an Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston’s Black Workers in the Civil War Era,” by Jacqueline Jones (Basic Books)

Biography
“King: A Life,” by Jonathan Eig (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

“Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom,” by Ilyon Woo (Simon & Schuster)

Memoir or Autobiography
“Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice,” by Cristina Rivera Garza (Hogarth)

Poetry
“Tripas: Poems,” by Brandon Som (Georgia Review Books)

General Nonfiction
“A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy,” by Nathan Thrall (Metropolitan Books)

Music
“Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith),” by Tyshawn Sorey

Special Citations

Greg Tate (1957 – 2021)

Journalists and Media Workers Covering the War in Gaza