The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S prize awarded annually in a range of writing categories. It was established by Joseph Pulitzer's 1904 will. Pulitzer (1847-1911), was a renowned newspaper publisher and National figure in the U.S and in his will, he established the Prize as an incentive in achieving excellence in a wide range of writing catagories, including letters.

In the letters catagory, prizes were to be awarded to one American novel, an orginal American play performed in New York and an American biography amongst others.

Pulitzer did stipulate that changes when necessary could be made to the awards by a Pulitzer Board and this allowed the awards to develop with the times. For example, Online journalism can now be considered in the journalism awards and poetry was later added as a category.

If you fancy reading the latest American literature, take a look at 2008's Pulitzer Prize winners and let us know what you think.

Award Category	Author and Title	Cover Art
Fiction Prize Winner	Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Drama	Ruined by Lynn Nottage
History	The Hemingses of Monticello: An American family by Annette Gordon-Reed
Biography	American lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
Poetry	The shadow of Sirius by W.S.Merwin
General Non-fiction	Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon