Updated at 4:44 p.m. ET
Out of more than 2,400 submissions, distinguished projects in just 21 categories earned gold Monday as winners of the 2018 Pulitzer Prizes.
"They include books, music and drama that inform us, that challenge our conventional notions of creative expression and that push us to consider and embrace new ideas and perspectives," Pulitzer administrator Dana Canedy said during the announcement at Columbia University in New York City.
"In the journalism categories, yet again this year, winners uphold the highest purpose of a free and independent press," she added. "Even in the most trying of times, these courageous inspiring and committed journalists and their news organizations are undaunted in their mission in support of the Fourth Estate."
Among the winners are photographers and investigators, commentators and cartoonists, authors and scholars. Watch the announcement at the link above, and find the winners — together with judges' explanation about why they won — in the list below.
Journalism
"For explosive, impactful journalism that exposed powerful and wealthy sexual predators — including allegations against one of Hollywood's most influential producers — bringing them to account for long-suppressed claims of coercion, brutality and victim-silencing, thus spurring a worldwide reckoning about sexual abuse of women."
"For lucid and tenacious coverage of historic wildfires that ravaged the city of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, and for expertly utilizing an array of tools, including photography, video and social media platforms to bring clarity to its readers in real time and in subsequent in-depth reporting for investigative reporting."
"For purposeful and relentless reporting that changed the course of a Senate race in Alabama, revealing a candidate's alleged past sexual harassment of teenage girls and subsequent efforts to undermine the journalism that exposed it."
"For vivid and timely reporting that masterfully combined text, video, podcasts and virtual reality to examine from multiple perspectives the difficulties and unintended consequences of fulfilling President Trump's pledge to construct a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico."
"For a riveting and insightful narrative and video documenting seven days of greater Cincinnati's heroin epidemic revealing how the deadly addiction has ravaged families and communities."
"For deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation's understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 election and its connections to the Trump campaign. The president-elect's transition team and his eventual administration."
"For relentless reporting that exposed the brutal killing campaign behind Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs."
"For an unforgettable portrait of murderer Dylann Roof, using a unique and powerful mix of reportage, first-person reflection and analysis of historical and cultural forces behind his killing of nine people inside Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C."
"For lyrical and courageous commentary that is rooted in Alabama but has a national resonance, in scrutinizing corrupt politicians, championing the rights of women and calling out hypocrisy for criticism."
"For a robust body of work that conveyed a canny and often daring perspective on visual arts in America, encompassing the personal, the political, the pure and the profane."
"For examining in a clear, indignant voice free of cliché or sentimentality, the damaging consequences for poor Iowa residents of privatizing the state's administration of Medicaid."
"For an emotionally powerful series told in graphic narrative form that chronicled the daily struggles of a real-life family of refugees and its fear of deportation."
"For a chilling image that reflected the photographer's reflexes and concentration, in capturing the moment of impact of a car during a racially charged protests in Charlottesville, Va."
"For shocking photos that expose the world to the violence Rohingya refugees face in fleeing Myanmar."
Letters, Drama and Music
"For a generous book, musical in its prose and expansive in its structure and range, about growing older and the essential nature of love."
"An honest, original work that invites audiences to examine diverse perspectives of privilege and human connection through two pairs of mismatched individuals: a former trucker and his recently paralyzed ex-wife, and an arrogant young man with cerebral palsy and his new caregiver."
"An important environmental history of the Gulf of Mexico that brings critical attention to the Earth's 10th largest body of water and one of the planet's most diverse and productive marine ecosystems."
"A deeply resourced and elegantly written portrait of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of The Little House on the Prairie series, that describes how Wilder transfers transformed her family's story of poverty, failure and struggle into an uplifting tale of self-reliance, familial love and perseverance."
"A volume of unyielding ambition and remarkable scope that mixes long, dramatic poems with short, elliptical lyrics, building on classical mythology and reinventing forms of desire that defy societal norms."
"An examination of the historical roots of contemporary criminal justice in the United States, based on vast experience and deep knowledge of the legal system, and its often devastating consequences for citizens and communities of color."
"A virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life."
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