New York, N.Y. (May 29, 2020) — The Pulitzer Prizes exclusively will accept books entered in electronic form for the 2021 awards. The change will affect the Biography, General Nonfiction, History, Fiction and Poetry Prize categories.
The criteria for consideration in all books categories remain the same. Books must be available for purchase as hard copies as well; as stated in the Pulitzer Plan of Award, “eligibility for these awards shall be restricted to works first published in the United States during the year, and made available in hardcover or bound paperback for purchase by the general public.”
To accommodate the move to digital submissions, the first 2021 entry deadline, the Pulitzer Prizes will begin accepting book submissions on Monday, June 1, 2020. The deadline for books published in the first half of 2020 is now June 19, 2020.
The change to digital submissions for 2021 is intended to increase the safety and convenience of both the Pulitzer and publishing houses’ staffs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when many are working remotely.
Books for the latter half of the year also must be submitted electronically, by the regular October 1 deadline. To accommodate the transition to digital book submissions, the opening of the Drama and Music competitions will be delayed until early September, 2020. The staggered dates will support technical and procedural changes required for digital submissions.
Technical specifications regarding e-books will be available at the Pulitzer entry site, bdmentrysite.pulitzer.org, as well as at the How to Enter page on Pulitzer.org at pulitzer.org/page/how-enter. The Pulitzer Prize staff is also available for assistance. Please email [email protected] with questions or general inquiries.
News
May 29, 2020