Percival Everett, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Win 2025 Pulitzer Prizes

Percival Everett won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for 'James,' a reimagining of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' told from the perspective of an enslaved man, which the Pulitzer jury praised for giving agency to Jim and exposing the absurdity of racial supremacy. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins received the drama prize for 'Purpose,' a play centered on a successful Black family in crisis, marking another major accolade for the playwright, who has been a previous finalist and Tony winner. Other major arts and letters honors included Jason Roberts for biography, Marie Howe for poetry, and Tessa Hulls for memoir or autobiography. The journalism prizes highlighted significant achievements in investigative and public service reporting, such as ProPublica’s work on Supreme Court ethics, Reuters’ reporting on the fentanyl crisis, and The New York Times’ coverage of the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel. The 2025 Pulitzer selections emphasized storytelling that confronts contemporary societal and political issues. These awards reinforce the transformative role of literature and journalism in shaping public discourse.