This week Columbia University, as it has done for over 100 years, awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize to the year's best American books, journalism, drama, poetry, and music. Shop the winning titles here on harvard.com and yes, it's unusual, but it's happened before, and it happened again this year—a "tie" for fiction! Here are the Pulitzer committee's comments on six of the honored titles.
 

Fiction

"Awarded to Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver, a masterful recasting of David Copperfield, narrated by an Appalachian boy whose wise, unwavering voice relates his encounters with poverty, addiction, institutional failures and moral collapse—and his efforts to conquer them."

"Awarded to Trust, by Hernan Diaz, a riveting novel set in a bygone America that explores family, wealth and ambition through linked narratives rendered in different literary styles, a complex examination of love and power in a country where capitalism is king."
 

History

"Awarded to Freedom's Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power, by Jefferson Cowie, a resonant account of an Alabama county in the 19th and 20th centuries shaped by settler colonialism and slavery, a portrait that illustrates the evolution of white supremacy by drawing powerful connections between anti-government and racist ideologies."
 

Biography

"Awarded to G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, by Beverly Gage, a deeply researched and nuanced look at one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history that depicts the longtime FBI director in all his complexity, with monumental achievements and
crippling flaws."
 

General Nonfiction

"Awarded to His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice, by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, an intimate, riveting portrait of an ordinary man whose fatal encounter with police officers in 2020 sparked an international movement for social change, but whose humanity and complicated personal story were unknown."
 

Memoir or Autobiography

"Awarded to Stay True, by Hua Hsu, an elegant and poignant coming of age account that considers intense, youthful friendships but also random violence that can suddenly and permanently alter the presumed logic of our personal narratives."

PSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you?

ME: I don't know, I'm – what's the word – depressed? Do I have to go into detail?

May is both Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, so this month our booksellers are highlighting titles by AAPI authors with a mental health focus. We have memoirs, fiction, psychology, YA, and more; our selections include I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki—the South Korean runaway bestseller quoted above, it's an intimate therapy memoir translated by International Booker Prize–shortlisted Anton Hur.

"May this find you wherever you may need it." Author Johnny Sun wrote this inscription to staffer Lily R. at a book event some years ago. She writes, recommending his latest book, Goodbye, Again, "This collection of thoughts, drawings, essays, and reflections, puts that feeling into a book. Sun is my favorite writer because he turns his vulnerability into comfort, an assurance that he's with you—the reader—and you're not alone."

Find these and many more recommendations here on harvard.com.

(And speaking of the International Booker Prize, in case you missed it, here are this year's shortlisted honorees!)

Saturday, May 13, 7PM

Andy Cohen—Emmy and Peabody Award–winning host and executive producer of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live—discusses The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up, a memoir of the responsibilities, joys, and growing pains of parenthood. Joining in conversation is Robin Young—co-host of NPR's Here & Now. Tickets required; all tickets include admission for one and one hardcover copy of The Daddy Diaries and an autographed bookplate from Andy Cohen. Masks encouraged. Learn more.

Monday, May 15, 6PM

Novelist Han Kang—International Booker Prize–winning author of The Vegetarian and recipient of the Yi Sang Literary Award—discusses Greek Lessons, the story of an unlikely bond between a young Korean woman and her Greek language teacher. Joining in conversation is Classics scholar Yung In Chae. Harvard Professor of the Classics Emily Greenwood will introduce the speakers. Tickets required; there are two ticket options available for this event. Masks required. Learn more.

Monday, May 15, 7PM

Annelise Orleck—professor of history at Dartmouth College—discusses the revised and expanded edition of Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty, inspiration for a PBS documentary that premiered in March. This is the little-known story of revolutionary Black women welfare organizers who spearheaded an evergreen, radical revisioning of American economic justice. Masks required. Join us.

Tuesday, May 16, 6PM

Daron Acemoglu—Institute Professor of Economics at MIT and bestselling coauthor of Why Nations Fail—and Simon Johnson—Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Sloan School at MIT and co-author of 13 Bankers—discuss Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity. Joining in conversation is Robert Kuttner, co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect. Tickets required; there are two ticket options available for this event. Masks required. Learn more.

Tuesday, May 16, 7PM

Poet, activist, and writer Eileen Myles—“one of the essential voices in American poetry” (New York Times)— presents their latest poetry collection, a “Working Life,” an expansive, light-footed, and cheerfully foreboding book, transfixed by the everyday. Masks required. Join us.

Wednesday, May 17, 7PM

Peter Grinspoon—primary care physician and cannabis specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital—discusses Seeing through the Smoke: A Cannabis Specialist Untangles the Truth about Marijuana. Joining in conversation is Marion McNabb—president of the Cannabis Center of Excellence. Masks required. Join us.

Thursday, May 18, 7PM

Brad Fox—author of the novel To Remain Nameless—discusses The Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous Ocean Depths, a wide ranging, philosophical, and sensual account of early deep sea exploration and its afterlives. Joining in conversation is filmmaker and educator Sadia Quraeshi Shepard—author of The Girl from Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Lost Loves, and a Sense of Home. Masks required. Join us.

Friday, May 19, 7PM

Olivia Wolfgang-Smith discusses her debut novel Glassworks, which follows one family across four generations to explore vocation, legacy, and identity in all its forms. Joining in conversation is Hanna Halperin, author of Something Wild and I Could Live Here Forever. Masks required. Join us.

Find recent releases from The New Press in our Publisher Focus window this week. The New Press amplifies progressive voices for a more inclusive, just, and equitable world. As a nonprofit public-interest publisher, the New Press leverage books, diverse voices, and media engagement to facilitate social change, enrich public discourse, and defend democratic values.

In case you missed it, check out our latest "New This Week" newsletter, and come browse our virtual New Arrivals shelves for all the very latest new books, updated every Tuesday. Our weekly store best sellers are updated on Mondays (and they are 20% off for Frequent Buyer Card members!). And on a monthly basis, we recommend dozens of recently published featured titles, plus members of our Signed First Edition Club receive a new book of great literary merit, selected by our staff.