2016 Pulitzer Prizes: Big win for 'Hamilton', AP awarded for public service

The winners of the Pulitzer Prize 2016 were announced during a YouTube live-stream on Monday. While the Pulitzer for Broadway’s breakout hit Hamilton came as a surprise to no one, the Fiction award for Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer might have surprised some, according to The Guardian. [caption id=“attachment_2737026” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of the Broadway show, ‘Hamilton.’ AFP[/caption] _AP’_s expose´ on slavery in Southeast Asia’s fishing industry was awarded for public service. The series called Seafood from Slaves, covered by four reporters, documented the harsh treatment of fishermen held captive on a remote island and traced their catch to US supermarkets and restaurants. Alissa J Rubin of The New York Times was given the Pulitzer in the International Reporting category for her extensive coverage on the abuse and injustice faced by women in Afghanistan, more than 14 years after the US-led invasion to bring down the Taliban. The New York Times also won the award for Breaking News Photography. The Los Angeles Times' reportage of last year’s mass shooting in San Bernardino that left 14 people dead and 24 injured was given the award for Breaking News Reporting. Syed Farook and wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people on 2 December, 2015 before dying in a firefight with police. From The New Yorker, Emily Nussbaum, Kathryn Schulz and William Finnegan won the Pulitzer. After the announcement was made, the noted Television critic thanked the magazine and congratulated the other winners on Twitter.

Hot damn. I won a goddamn Pulitzer. Thank you to this wonderful magazine for letting me mouth off & think out loud.

— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) April 18, 2016

The Pulitzer for Hamilton in the Drama category came as a surprise to no one. The Broadway’s hip-hop musical is on the American revolution and the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton. According to the Rolling Stone, Hamilton is the ninth musical in the Pulitzer’s 100-year history, to win the award. Congratulations poured in for Lin-Manuel Miranda, the author, composer, lyricist and the star of Hamilton on Twitter.

Elmo's friend @Lin_Manuel won a fancy prize called Pulitzer, but Elmo doesn't know what it means! Congratulations Mr. Lin! Yea baby!

— Elmo (@elmo) April 18, 2016

More from World

Trump gets a shot in his tariff arm: US budget deficit falls $35 bn import duty revenue rises ‘Call me if...’: Lutnick says ‘Koreans’ should have sought his help to fix Hyundai visa issue

Grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful grateful great full

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) April 18, 2016

The prize for Non-Fiction was won by Joby Warrick for his book Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS and its assessment of the “flawed rationale” of the Iraq war and the rise of the Islamic State extremist group, the committee said. On domestic American news, outlets in Florida scooped three Pulitzer Prizes. The Tampa Bay Times and Sarasota Herald Tribune won for their investigation into violence and neglect in Florida mental hospitals. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen got the Pulitzer for Fiction. Thanh Nguyen’s debut novel is on the Vietnam War and its aftermath. In its review, The Guardian said: “The Sympathizer can be read as a spy novel, a war novel, an immigrant novel, a novel of ideas, a political novel, a campus novel, a novel about the movies, and a novel, yes, about other novels.” After his win, Thanh Nguyen released a statement on Twitter saying “I sat around shocked, stunned, fielding phone calls from my publicist and doing news interviews.”

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

French MPs call for social media ban for under-15s, digital curfew for teenagers

Nepal's Gen Z groups accept constitution to resolve crisis after talks with govt

Click here to see the full list of winners.