The pulizer prize fiction winners

2008 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Riverhead Books)
2007 The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Alfred A. Knopf)
2006 March by Geraldine Brooks (Viking)
2005 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar)
2004 The Known World by Edward P. Jones (Amistad HarperCollins)
2003 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Farrar)
2002 Empire Falls by Richard Russo (Alfred A. Knopf)
2001 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (Random House)
2000 Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin)
1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
1998 American Pastoral by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin)
1997 Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser (Crown)
1996 Independence Day by Richard Ford (Alfred A. Knopf)
1995 The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (Viking)
1994 The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (Charles Scribner's Sons)
1993 A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler (Henry Holt)
1992 A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (Alfred A. Knopf)
1991 Rabbit At Rest by John Updike (Alfred A. Knopf)
1990 The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos (Farrar)
1989 Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (Alfred A. Knopf)
1988 Beloved by Toni Morrison (Alfred A. Knopf)
1987 A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor (Alfred A. Knopf)
1986 Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Simon and Schuster)
1985 Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie (Random House)
1984 Ironweed by William Kennedy (Viking)
1983 The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Harcourt Brace)
1982 Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike (Knopf)
1981 A Confederacy of Dunces by the late John Kennedy Toole (a posthumous publication) (Louisiana State U. Press)
1980 The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer (Little)
1979 The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever (Knopf)
1978 Elbow Room by James Alan McPherson (Atlantic Monthly Press)
1977 (No Award)
1976 Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow (Viking)
1975 The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (McKay)
1974 (No Award)
1973 The Optimists Daughter by Eudora Welty (Random)
1972 Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (Doubleday)
1971 (No Award)
1970 Collected Stories by Jean Stafford (Farrar)
1969 House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday (Harper)
1968 The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron (Random)
1967 The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (Farrar)
1966 Collected Stories by Katherine Anne Porter (Harcourt)
1965 The Keepers Of The House by Shirley Ann Grau (Random)
1964 (No Award)
1963 The Reivers by William Faulkner (Random)
1962 The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor (Little)
1961 To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Lippincott)
1960 Advise and Consent by Allen Drury (Doubleday)
1959 The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor (Doubleday)
1958 A Death In The Family by the late James Agee (a posthumous publication) (McDowell, Obolensky)
1957 (No Award)
1956 Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor (World)
1955 A Fable by William Faulkner (Random)
1954 (No Award)
1953 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (Scribner)
1952 The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk (Doubleday)
1951 The Town by Conrad Richter (Knopf)
1950 The Way West by A. B. Guthrie (Sloane)
1949 Guard of Honor by James Gould Cozzens (Harcourt)
1948 Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener (Macmillan)

Great idea for a group. I'm from Australia and will admit to almost total ignorance about American literature. From your list I've read 9 books, abandoned 2 and have 1 on my TBR pile. I am open to recommendations, but please no Faulkner. I have decided never to revisit him.

By the way there is a great blog dedicated to Pulitzer Prize Winners. It looks like anybody can contribute. It's called the http://pulitzerproject.blogspot.com/.

Hi socialpages, from the list I've read 13, abandoned 1 and have 6 on my tbr list. My favorites were March, Middlesex, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, The Hours, The Killer Angels, and Angle of Repose.

I did a bit of research and found I had read some of the earlier winners to bring my total to 12 that I have read. I am finding it hard to pick favourite reads because I enjoyed them all but if I must choose then I would have to say The Good Earth (maybe because it's my most recent read), March - written by an Aussie ex-pat, and To Kill a Mocking Bird.

What was the book you abandoned? For me, it was A Confederacy of Dunces. Maybe I should give it another chance. Have you read that one?

I have read eight of these (1948, 1952, 1953, 1958, 1961, 1969, 1975, and 1992). I own eight more (1960, 1973, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1999, 2001, and 2007), so they're on my TBR list. I'll make my way through 'em as I can...

The list above only contains the winners for "Fiction"; until 1947, the category was called "Novels". So among those earlier winners, I've also read the ones for 1928, 1930, 1937, 1939, and 1940, for a grand total of 13. I shall continue!

Thanks for posting this list - and to kristinharzard for sharing the blog post. I have a long way to go - especially in the '40s and '50s. I agree with Social Pages - I can never pick a "favorite" although To Kill a Mocking Bird is an amazing work.
I've tried to read Confederacy of Dunces at least three times and I just can't seem to get into it. I know the background story of the author and I've read many reviews. I'm hoping one day my brain will just click on it, but maybe not.
I also couldn't get through The Road - it kept breaking my heart, but I want to try again.

March (ok)
Middlesex (very good)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (loved!)
The Hours (very good it & film)
The Shipping News (loved it & film)
A Thousand Acres (very good)
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (very good)
Beloved (loved - bad film)

yep, long way to go!

I have had The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay on my bookshelf since January this year and have only heard positive comments on LT about it. I'm hoping to get to it in August. If only it wasn't such a huge tome and was more purse sized and portable for reading whilst commuting.

I've read every one, at the times shown:

134. The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder (read Nov or Dec 1943) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1928)
260. The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck (read 15 June 1946) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1932)
280. So Big, by Edna Ferber (read 2 Sept 1946) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1925)
355. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (read 17 Mar 1949) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1940)
362. Arrowsmith, by Sinclair Lewis (read 16 Jul 1949) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1926)
363. The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (read 31 Jul 1949) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1939)
464. The Caine Mutiny: A Novel of World War II, by Herman Wouk (read 31 Jan 1954) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1952)
498. A Fable, by William Faulkner (read 3 June 1956) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1955) (National Book Award fiction prize for 1955)
524. The Late George Apley: A Novel in the Form of a Memoir, by John P. Marquand (read 29 Oct 1957) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1938)
533. Journey in the Dark, by Martin Flavin (read 7 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1944)
534. The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington (read 13 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1919)
535. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (read 20 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1921)
536. Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington (read 24 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1922)
537. His Family by Ernest Poole (read 27 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1918)
538. The Able McLaughlins by Margaret Wilson (read 2 May 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1924)
539. One of Ours by Willa Cather (read 11 May 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1923)
540. Early Autumn A Story of a Lady by Louis Bromfield (read 17 May 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1927)
541. Scarlet Sister Mary by Julia Peterkin (read May 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1929)
542. Laughing Boy by Oliver LaFarge (read 27 May 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1930)
543. Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes (read 31 May 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1931)
545. The Store by T. S. Stribling (read 14 June 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1933)
546. Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller (read 24 June 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1934)
547. Now in November by Josephine Johnson (read 29 June 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1935)
548. Honey in the Horn by H. L. Davis (read 19 July 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1936)
549. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (read 6 Aug 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1937)
550. In This Our Life by Ellen Glasgow (read 12 Aug 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1942)
553. Dragon's Teeth by Upton Sinclair (read 13 Sept 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1943)
554. A Bell for Adano by John Hersey (read 16 Sep 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1945)
555. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (read 21 Sept. 1958) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1947)
556.Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener (read 30 Sept 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1948)
557. Guard of Honor by James Gould Cozzens (read 12 Oct 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1949)
558. The Way West by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. (read 18 Oct 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1950)
564.The Town, by Conrad Richter (read 14 Dec 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1951)
565. Andersonville, by MacKinlay Kantor (read 27 Dec 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1956)
566. A Death in the Family, by James Agee (read 4 Jan 1959) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1958)
573. The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway (read 15 May 1959) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1953)
577. The Travels of Jamie McPheeters, by Robert Lewis Taylor (read 25 June 1959) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1959)
620. Advise and Consent, by Allen Drury (read 9 June 1960) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer Fiction prize 1960)
651. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (read 8 May 1961) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1961)
698. The Edge of Sadness, by Edwin O'Connor (read 4 June 1962) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1962)
981. The Confessions of Nat Turner, by William Styron (read 27 Nov 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1968)
983. The Reivers A Reminiscence, by William Faulkner (read 30 Nov 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1963)
984. The Keepers of the House, by Shirley Ann Grau (read 1 Dec 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1965)
985. The Fixer, by Bernard Malamud (read 5 Dec 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1967) (National Book Award fiction prize for 1967)
986. The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (read 8 Dec 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1966) (National Book Award fiction prize for 1966)
1097. House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday (read 27 Nov 1970) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1969)
1103. The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford (read 24 Jan 1971) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1970)
1164. Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner (read 27 May 1972) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1972)
1634. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole (read 21 May 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1981)
1635. The Optimist's Daughter, by Eudora Welty (read 22 May 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1973)
1637. The Killer Angels A Novel, by Michael Shaara (read 29 May 1981) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1975)
1642. Humboldt's Gift, by Saul Bellow (read 8 July 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1976)
1652. Elbow Room: Stories by James Alan McPherson (read 8 Aug 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1978)
1653. The Stories of John Cheever (read 17 Aug 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1979) (National Book Award fiction prize in 1981) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1978)
1823. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker (read 28 Jan 1984) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1983) (National Book Award fiction prize for 1983)
1981. Foreign Affairs, by Alison Lurie (read 26 Feb 1986) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1985)
1987. Ironweed, by William Kennedy (read 9 Mar 1986) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1984) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1983)
2046. Lonesome Dove a novel by Larry McMurtry (read 17 Jan 1987) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1986)
2086. The Executioner's Song, by Norman Mailer (read 20 Jun 1987) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1980)
2106. A Summons to Memphis, by Peter Taylor (read 1 Nov 1987) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1987)
2186. Beloved A Novel, by Toni Morrison (read 11 Feb 1989) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1988)
2291. Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler (read 5 May 1990) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1989)
2359. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos (read 19 Feb 1991) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1990)
2386. Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike (read 27 May 1991) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1982) (National Book Award fiction prize for 1982) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1981)
2390. Rabbit at Rest by John Updike (read 22 June 1991) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1991) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1990)
2527. A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley (read 8 Aug 1993) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1992) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1991)
2568. A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain Stories by Robert Olen Butler (read 15 Jan 1994) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1993)
2628. The Shipping News, by E. Annie Proulx (read 19 Jul 1994) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1994) (National Book Award fiction prize in 1993)
2739. The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields (read 2 May 1995) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1995) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1994)
2912. Independence Day, by Richard Ford (read 1 Oct 1996) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1996)
3024. Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer, by Steven Millhauser (read 18 Oct 1997) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1997)
3075. American Pastoral, by Philip Roth (read 10 May 1998) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1998)
3202. The Hours, by Michael Cunningham (read 30 May 1999) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1999)
3416. Interpreter of Maladies Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri (read 8 Mar 2001) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 2000)
3436. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay A Novel by Michael Chabon (read 24 Apr 2001) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 2001)
3568. Empire Falls, by Richard Russo (read 12 Apr 2002) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 2002)
3743. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides (read 11 May 2003) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2003)
3842. The Known World, by Edward P. Jones (read 1 Jan 2004) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2004) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 2003)
4016. Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson (read 26 Apr 2005) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2005) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 2004)
4202. March A Novel, by Geraldine Brooks (read 24 Aug 2006) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 2006)
4312. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (read 13 May 2007) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2007)
4421. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz (read 23 Mar 2008) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2008) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 2007)
4563. Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout (read 23 Apr 2009) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 2009)
4712. tinkers, by Paul Harding (read 25 May 2010) (Pulitzer fiction prize in 2010)
4806. A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan (read 18 Mar 2011) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 2010) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 2010)