A Celebration of Writing: The 2024 Pulitzer Prizes

Carson Lupton, Staff Writer • June 7, 2024

The 2024 Pulitzer Prize ceremony was held on May 6th. The Pulitzer Prizes have marked milestone writing in journalism and the arts for over a century. Held by Columbia University in New York, the 23 awards include Breaking News, Fiction, Drama, Criticism, and Music. The awards were established in 1917 from the wishes of esteemed journalist Joseph Pulitzer. The prizes were announced this year via a YouTube Livestream. The prize for Fiction is considered among the most prestigious. The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has seen previous winners such as The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, A Visit From The Goon Squad, The Grapes of Wrath, To Kill A Mockingbird, and The Goldfinch.

Pulitzer Prize Medal. Image via Wikimedia Commons

While the popularity of the featured books can vary, this year, the finalists and winners were more obscure, with none having over 2,000 ratings on the online book review site Goodreads. This year, Jayne Anne Phillips, the author of Night Watch, won despite her book being less popular than others. John Corcoran, writing for Literary Hub, said, “Her style emerges from an expert control of the line—a tight and often lyric arrangement of words that seems to reconfigure the possibility of a sentence. Fleshy is the word that comes to mind when I think of Phillips’ writing—bodies and action and sensory intertwined.” As they have for over a century, this year’s Pulitzer Prizes have again shone a spotlight on authors’ true excellence. These awards, a testament to writers’ creativity and ingenuity, continue to push the boundaries of literature and journalism, inspiring future generations of wordsmiths.

About the Contributor

Carson Lupton, Staff Writer

Carson Lupton is a Senior at La Jolla High, and this is his second year in the newspaper. Some of his hobbies include reading, drawing, and rock climbing, which have helped him have a more creative and well-rounded outlook on article writing. He hopes to accomplish much during his year for the Hi-Tide. Principally, he wants to improve the newspaper in a meaningful and lasting way. Another goal he wants to achieve is to make sure that all of his writing and reporting is the best it can be, by putting in as much work and effort as he can into each article. Finally, Carson Lupton hopes to be able to keep improving his writing skills over the school year and ensure that his articles only increase in readability and engagement.