The 2024 Pulitzer Prizes, awarded on May 6th, celebrated outstanding achievements in journalism, literature, drama, and music. This year’s awards highlighted the importance of rigorous reporting and powerful storytelling, particularly in covering global conflicts and social issues.

The Associated Press received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its comprehensive and harrowing coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. The AP’s reporting documented civilian suffering in Gaza, often under dangerous conditions, providing crucial on-the-ground insights as the conflict unfolded. This award recognized the AP’s commitment to bearing witness to the tragic events, despite intense risk.

Reuters journalists won the Breaking News Photography prize for their poignant images of the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent conflict. In investigative reporting, Josh Funk and Yeganeh Torbati of ProPublica were recognized for exposing how law enforcement exploits data brokers to circumvent privacy protections. Aída Chávez of The Nation received the national reporting award for her coverage of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority’s influence.

The New Yorker’s Joshua Eyler won the feature writing category for “The Invisible Life of Tree Roots,” a meticulously researched piece on the underground networks sustaining forests. Lynsey Addario of The New York Times received the International Reporting prize for her harrowing coverage of the war in Ukraine, including her reporting from Bucha after the Russian withdrawal.

In literature, Jay Ward’s novel “The Loophole in the Sky” won the Fiction prize, while Victoria Chang’s “Womb Poetics” took the Poetry award. Camara Phyllis Jones’s “Birthright Citizens: A Journey of Discovery” was honored in the History category for its exploration of the historical development of race thinking in the United States. Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa’s “His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice” won the Biography prize, offering a humanizing portrait of George Floyd.

The Drama prize went to David Adjmi’s play “Stereophonic,” and Tyshawn Sorey’s “Continuum” received the Music award. The GroundTruth Project was given a Special Citation for its role in supporting emerging journalists and promoting diversity in the media.

This year’s Pulitzer Prizes underscored the significance of a free and independent press in documenting critical moments and illuminating the human experience through art and rigorous reporting.