Fiction about American life helps people feel, reflect on and talk about exclusion and inclusion in the real world now and over time.
Pulitzer Book Club is a free resource to help book groups, libraries, and independent readers experience and discuss
Pulitzer Fiction and Novel winners through the lens of inclusion.
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is awarded
“For distinguished fiction published in book
form during the year by an American author,
preferably dealing with American life.”
Pulitzer winners set in and written during
different time periods are a record of and
way to experience inclusion and exclusion
via literature over time.
The Inclusion Guide for each Pulitzer fiction
winner provides info, prompts and ideas to
encourage thought and candid conversation
about inclusion based on the book.
MEMORY HOOK
Recall-if-you read book scene
INSTAPLOT
What happens,
10 words or less
COMMITMENT
Length, challenge
UNIQUENESS
What makes book different
INCLUSION LESSON
Inclusion insight from book
INCLUSION/EXCLUSION
Nature of characters, interactions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Inclusion conversation prompts
QUOTE
Inclusion-related
book quote
MORE
Author’s related novels,
film adaptations
Pulitzer Book Club’s selection tools help readers and book groups choose their Pulitzer.
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Pick Your Pulitzer: InstaPlot (what happens, 10 words or less), memory hook (scene to help recall if read the book already), commitment (length, challenge)
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Pulitzer Pairings: Pulitzer winners grouped by common denominators
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Pulitzer Bests & Worsts: A special distinction for each Pulitzer fiction winner
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Pulitzer Personals: Fun way to get to know someone you’ll meet in the Pulitzer winner
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Inclusion Milestones from 1918 to the present place each Pulitzer Fiction winner in time based on year’s progress for traditionally marginalized Americans, including women, Black and Brown people, Native Americans, Latinx, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, immigrants, the LBGTQ community, those with mental illness, people living in poverty, the elderly, people with disabilities, and individuals who don’t fit the traditional beauty mold.
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Inclusion Milestones are presented as timeline and incorporated into Inclusion Guide for each Pulitzer winner.
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Inclusion Guides recap author inspirations, book’s uniqueness, inclusion/inclusion overview, and a quote and an insight/lesson about inclusion.
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Book-inspired road trips, author’s related fiction and film/TV adaptations are identified. Inclusion and literary discussion prompts and ideas for meeting venues and menus are provided for book groups.
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Links provided to get book online, from an indie bookstore or library. Links also provided to Pulitzer win citation and Pulitzer prize selection board.
“‘It was the Pulitzer committee,’ he said evenly.
‘It turns out I’ve been pronouncing it wrong all these years.’ ‘You won?’
‘It’s not Pew-lit-sir.
It’s Pull-it-sir.’”
-Andrew Sean Greer
“Less," 2018
“How will we know it’s us without our past?”
- John Steinbeck
“Grapes of Wrath", 1940
“Writing is an essential strategy against oppression.”
- Alice Walker
“The Color Purple,” 1983
“Belief has nothing to do with truth.”
- Percival Everett
"James," 2025
Nelson, who has just used the slur “jungle bunny” says,
“Dad, you’re really prejudiced.
You should travel more.”
-John Updike
“Rabbit is Rich,” 1982
“The past is not dead.
It is not even past.”
- Harold Lenoir Davis
"Honey in the Horn," 1936