The 2014 Pulitzer Prizewinners were just announced. First things first: Our very own Jen Graves was announced as a finalist in the Criticism category. Here's her citation:

Criticism

Jen Graves of The Stranger, a Seattle weekly
For her visual arts criticism that, with elegant and vivid description, informs readers about how to look at the complexities of contemporary art and the world in which it’s made.

The winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism this year is Inga Saffron of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The two other awards that everyone is going to be talking about: The Guardian and the Washington Post won a Pulitzer for Public Service, citing their "revelation of widespread secret surveillance by the National Security Agency, marked by authoritative and insightful reports that helped the public understand how the disclosures fit into the larger framework of national security." This is a big deal because it helps legitimize the NSA story; there was a fear among some more cynical media observers that the Pulitzer would ignore this story because it's too controversial. This award is absolutely deserved.

And in fiction, Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch won a Pulitzer. Everybody absolutely loves this book, and the Pulitzer cements its reputation as the American novel of the year.

You can find a complete list of winners below, and a complete list of the winners and finalists on the Pulitzer's webpage.

Letters, Drama, and Music

Fiction
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Little, Brown)

Drama
The Flick by Annie Baker

History
The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832 by Alan Taylor (W.W. Norton)

Biography or Autobiography
Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Poetry
3 Sections by Vijay Seshadri (Graywolf Press)

General Nonfiction
Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin (Bantam Books)

Music
Become Ocean by John Luther Adams (Taiga Press/Theodore Front Musical Literature)


Journalism

Public Service
The Guardian US
The Washington Post

Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Boston Globe

Investigative Reporting
Chris Hamby of The Center for Public Integrity, Washington, DC

Explanatory Reporting
Eli Saslow of The Washington Post

Local Reporting
Will Hobson and Michael LaForgia of Tampa Bay Times

National Reporting
David Philipps of The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO

International Reporting
Jason Szep and Andrew R.C. Marshall of Reuters

Feature Writing
No award

Commentary
Stephen Henderson of Detroit Free Press

Criticism
Inga Saffron of The Philadelphia Inquirer

Editorial Writing
Editorial Staff of The Oregonian, Portland

Editorial Cartooning
Kevin Siers of The Charlotte Observer

Breaking News Photography
Tyler Hicks of The New York Times

Feature Photography
Josh Haner of The New York Times