Award Winners | Hachette Book Group

Winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction

Theo Decker is only a young teen when an explosion in an art museum claims the life of his mother and leaves him accidentally in possession of the Dutch masterpiece, "The Goldfinch." With his father absent from his life, Theo is taken in by a wealthy family, but it is his connection to the small painting that reminds him of his mother that helps him through his heartache and eventually guides him into a life in the arts as an antique dealer. Moving from the Upper West Side to Las Vegas as Theo attempts to navigate the dangerous underworld of art, The Goldfinch is itself a masterpiece, a Dickensian tale of love, loss, and friendship told with a brilliance and poise only Donna Tartt can deliver.

Winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize 

It’s New Zealand, 1866: Twelve men are having a tense meeting at the Crown Hotel when they are interrupted by Walter Moody, a prospective gold digger. As the night wears on and each of the men weaves his tale, Moody is drawn into a complex narrative revolving around a coveted prostitute, the country’s gold rush, and the world of shipping. Catton uses her characters' astrological signs to dictate their behaviors, which adds a layer of enchantment to the book. Part-atmospheric mystery, part-richly plotted page-turner, The Luminaries is a momentous achievement with a unique take on historical fiction that simply shines.

Winner of the 2016 National Book Award for Nonfiction

Stamped from the Beginning is a necessary dissection of the history of racism, which dispels the idea that we are living in a post-racial America and, through extensive research, explains how slavery and racism came into existence. Using the life stories of five famous American intellectuals, Ibram X. Kendi shines an analytical light on the roots of racism and slavery, making it clear that they were carefully planned and implemented, and traces the evolution of racism and anti-racists from Aristotle and Cotton Mather up through Angela Davis and Black Lives Matter.

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Fans of the Hamilton musical will love this electrifying account of how the “ten dollar Founding Father” became the subject of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s history-making musical. Illustrated throughout with fantastic color and black-and-white photos, it details how the spark of an idea grew into the hip-hop musical sensation of Broadway and includes exclusive peeks at Miranda’s notes and emails, appearances by Questlove, Barack Obama, Stephen Sondheim, the original cast, and more. An inspiration to anyone with a big idea, this is the perfect book for theater lovers, history fans, dreamers, and Peggys.

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Letters

Poet and essayist Alexander’s writing has always been deeply moving and personal, but now she turns an introspective eye toward a very difficult event: the sudden death of her husband. Left alone to raise their two teenage sons, Alexander sought comfort in family, friends, and art as she revisited events from their marriage and struggled to keep her faith in the face of unimaginable loss. Told in elegant and lyrical prose, The Light of the World is a blessing, not only a memoir of grief and recovery, but a source of inspiration for anyone experiencing difficult times.

2017 LAMBDA Literary Award Winner 

Cleve Jones arrived in San Francisco in the middle of the sexual revolution and quickly became involved in the campaign to elect Harvey Milk, the city’s first openly gay politician. Moved to continue Milk’s work after his assassination, Jones began his own remarkable life in politics, becoming a spokesperson for the gay community, helping found the San Francisco AIDS Foundation the AIDS quilt project, and more. Told with warmth and humor, When We Rise is the story of a remarkable life lived with compassion and bravery in the face of hate and adversity.