Since 2023, the Pulitzer Prize jury has each year awarded $15,000 to "a distinguished and factual memoir or autobiography by an American author." We've put together a list of the exceptional books that have received this honour since the prize's inauguration—plus the finalists who have been singled out for particular praise.
The Pulitzer Prize category for exceptional works of autobiography and memoir was introduced in 2023, the prize’s 107th year. Previously autobiographical books had been included under the umbrella of ‘biography.’ But, as Marjorie Miller, administrator of the prizes, explained at the time, the genre has been “flourishing” in recent years and, at the urging of many of their nominating jurors, it was decided that “it was time for each genre to have its own prize category.”
The decision of the Pulitzer Prize administration reflects a wider shift in literary culture more generally, as nonfiction becomes increasingly inflected with personal narrative and first-person stories. Memoir, often considered a form of ‘creative nonfiction’, has surged in popularity since the turn of the century, although of course its roots are very ancient. It is this creative element that is generally felt to define the form. As the critic Laurie Hertzel, in an interview with Five Books, explained: “Autobiographies, in general, are works of scholarship. Memoirs are more personal. Memoir often is just a certain sliver of a person’s life, not the story of one’s entire life. Autobiography usually doesn’t involve a person’s inner life as much or emotional journey, as a memoir does.”
Because we know that the Five Books audience appreciates memoir—and is always hungry for book recommendations—we’ve brought together all the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoirs and autobiographies since the category’s inauguration. As this list remains relatively short, we’ve also included the shortlisted books from each prize year, all of which were selected by the jury as deserving special recognition for their literary quality and ambition.
2026
2025
2024
2023
September 9, 2026
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