A Word of Encouragement: King's Book Was About to Be Remaindered When it Won the Pulitzer

Gilbert King

Gilbert King learned he had won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction via text. The New York Times reports, the two-word message from a friend simply read, “Dude. Pulitzer.” King was shocked. “I’d just gotten a notice from my publisher that the book had been remaindered.”

Read the full piece and be encouraged. Neither of the three books King has written has hit any bestseller lists, and like many struggling writers, he has earned his income working on a mish mosh of projects freelance editing, ghostwriting, and photographing images for medical magazines before breaking into foreign fashion publications. He says of the book which required meticulous research and ultimately earned him the prestigious award, “I just kept at it.”

Adam Johnson's "The Orphan Master's" Son Wins Pulitzer Prize

Adam Johnson, winner of 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

The Pulitzer Prizes have been announced today and Adam Johnson’s novel The Orphan Master‘s Son edged out What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander and The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey to win the Fiction award. Also among the esteemed list are Sharon Olds’ book of poems Stag’s Leap, Fredrik Logevall’s historic look at the struggle to subdue Vietnam, Embers of War, and Gilbert King’s non-fiction title Devil in the Grove. Johnson’s winning book is also nominated for an Indies Choice Award.

The New York Times scooped up four Pulitzers including one for Investigative Reporting and another in the Feature Writing category.  The Denver Post Staff were double finalists for the Breaking News Prize for their “vivid coverage of a wildfire that destroyed more than 300 homes” and also for their “comprehensive coverage of the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora”. They ultimately beat themselves, and fellow finalists, the Staff of the Hartford Courant for their Aurora reporting.

Established by Joseph Pulitzer, the Prize is meant to acknowledge the best in letters, drama, music, and journalism. Each winner reportedly receives $10,000 and a certificate, with the exception of the Public Service Award. “The Public Service Award is a gold medal (actually 24 karat gold plate over silver) with Benjamin Franklin on the front and a man tending a printing press on the back. There is no money associated with the Public Service Prize.” The first Prizes were awarded in 1917.

Get the full list of winners on Pulitzer.org