What are they looking for in Pulitzer Prizes literature?

fonteal: What are they looking for in Pulitzer Prizes literature?
I’m an armature writer and my dream goal would be to win this prize. How is the literature being judged? What makes it any different from any other piece of writing?

Answers and Views:

Answer by TokyoGirl
I know that they look at the quality of the work, as well as the author themselves.

I think that overall they look at the impact of the work & how well it actively portrays life (especially American life).

As far as fiction goes, most of the writing appears to be realistically set. The main characters deal with an everyday problem, & either realistically solved or failed.

An independent board chooses the pieces. You can enter your own work (as far as the official site says, anyway), but the pieces are sorted through before the actual event.

It would be nice to win this prize, but it is by no means something that you need to define yourself as a writer. If you find greater joy in “writing outside the Pulitzer box”, then do so. If you don’t love what you write, then nothing you write will be any good.