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The Pulitzer Prize jury has the option of awarding special citations and awards where they consider necessary.

Prizes for the award vary. The Pulitzer Prize Board has stated that the Special Citations given to George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Duke Ellington were in response to criticism for the failure of the Board to cite the four.^[1]

On May 4, 2020, Ida B. Wells was announced as the recipient of a Pulitzer Special Citation "[f]or her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching."^[2] The Pulitzer Prize board announced that it would donate at least $50,000 in support of Wells' mission to recipients who would be announced at a later date.^[2] No specific category was announced for this citation.

On June 11, 2021, Darnella Frazier was announced as the recipient of a Pulitzer Special Citation.^[3]

Year	Awardee		Newspaper	Citation	Ref(s)
1924	–	the widow of Frank I. Cobb	The New York World	"A special prize of $1000 was awarded to the widow of Frank I. Cobb in recognition of the distinction of her husband's editorial writing and service."	[4]
1930	–	William O. Dapping	Auburn Citizen (New York)	"A special prize for his reportorial work in connection with the outbreak at Auburn prison during December 1929."	[5]
1938		Edmonton Journal		"A special bronze plaque for its editorial leadership against the Accurate News and Information Act, in defense of the freedom of the press, in the Province of Alberta, Canada."	[6]
1941		The New York Times		"for the public educational value of its foreign news report, exemplified by its scope, by excellence of writing and presentation and supplementary background information, illustration, and interpretation"	[7]
1944		Byron Price	Director of the Office of Censorship	"for the creation and administration of the newspaper and radio codes."	[8]
1945	–	Cartographers of the American press		"for maps of the war fronts that have helped notably to clarify and increase public information on the progress of the Armies and Navies engaged."	[9]
1947		St. Louis Post-Dispatch		"for its unswerving adherence to the public and professional ideals of its founder and its constructive leadership in the field of American journalism."	[10]
1951		Cyrus L. Sulzberger	The New York Times	"for his exclusive interview with Archbishop Stepinac."	[11]
	The Advisory Board on the Pulitzer Prizes as a policy does not make any award to an individual member of the board. In 1951, the board decided that the outstanding instance of National Reporting done in 1950 was the exclusive interview with President Truman obtained by Arthur Krock of The New York Times, while Mr. Krock was a board member. The board therefore made no award in the National Reporting category.				[11]
1952		Max Kase	New York Journal-American	"for his exclusive exposures of bribery and other forms of corruption in the popular American sport of basketball, which exposures tended to restore confidence in the game's integrity."	[12]
	–	The Kansas City Star		"for the news coverage of the great regional flood of 1951 in Kansas and Northwestern Missouri - a distinguished example of editing and reporting that also gave the advance information that achieved the maximum of public protection."	[12]
1953		The New York Times		"for the section of its Sunday newspaper edited by Lester Markel and headed, "Review of the Week," which for seventeen years has brought enlightenment and intelligent commentary to its readers."	[13]
1958		Walter Lippmann	New York Herald Tribune	"for the wisdom, perception and high sense of responsibility with which he has commented for many years on national and international affairs."	[14]
1964		Gannett Newspapers		"A special citation for their program, "The Road to Integration," a distinguished example of the use of a newspaper group's resources to complement the work of its individual newspapers."	[15]
1978	–	Richard Lee Strout	The Christian Science Monitor	"for distinguished commentary from Washington over many years as staff correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor and contributor to The New Republic."	[16]
1996		Herb Caen	San Francisco Chronicle	"for his extraordinary and continuing contribution as a voice and conscience of his city."	[17]
2019	–	The Capital Gazette		"A special citation to honor the journalists, staff and editorial board of the Capital Gazette, Annapolis, Maryland, for their courageous response to the largest killing of journalists in U.S. history in their newsroom on June 28, 2018, and for demonstrating unflagging commitment to covering the news and serving their community at a time of unspeakable grief. The citation comes with a $100,000 bequest by the Pulitzer Board to be used to further the newspaper’s journalistic mission."	[18]
2021	–	Darnella Frazier		For courageously recording the murder of George Floyd, a video that spurred protests against police brutality around the world, highlighting the crucial role of citizens in journalists' quest for truth and justice	[19]

Year	Work(s)	Awardee		Citation	Note(s)
1918	Love Songs		Sara Teasdale	This award was made possible by a special grant from The Poetry Society.[20]
1919	Corn Huskers		Carl Sandburg	This award was made possible by a special grant from The Poetry Society.[21]
	Old Road to Paradise	–	Margaret Widdemer	This award was made possible by a special grant from The Poetry Society.[21]
1957	Various historical novels		Kenneth Roberts	"A special citation is awarded to Kenneth Roberts for his historical novels which have long contributed to the creation of greater interest in our early American history."	[22]
1960	The Defeat of the Spanish Armada	–	Garrett Mattingly	"A special citation is awarded to The Defeat of the Spanish Armada by Garrett Mattingly, published by Houghton, Mifflin. It is a first-class history and a literary work of high order."	[23]
1961	American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War	–		"A special citation is given to The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War as a distinguished example of American book publishing."	[24]
1973	George Washington, Vols. I-IV		James Thomas Flexner	"A special citation to George Washington, Vols. I-IV, by James Thomas Flexner."	[25]
1977	Roots		Alex Haley	"A special award to Alex Haley for Roots, the story of a black family from its origins in Africa through seven generations to the present day in America."	[26]
1978	All works		E.B. White	"A special citation to E. B. White for his letters, essays, and the full body of his work."	[16]
1984	All works		Theodor Seuss Geisel	"A special citation to Theodor Seuss Geisel, more widely known as Dr. Seuss, for his special contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America's children and their parents."	[27]
1992	Maus		Art Spiegelman	"For Maus"	[28]
2006	All works	–	Edmund S. Morgan	"A Special Citation to Edmund S. Morgan for a creative and deeply influential body of work as an American historian that spans the last half-century."	[29]
2007	All works		Ray Bradbury	for his "distinguished, prolific and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of science fiction and fantasy"	[30]

Year	Work(s)	Awardee(s)		Citation	Ref(s)
1944	Oklahoma!		Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II	"A special award for Oklahoma!"	[31]
1974	All works		Roger Sessions	"A special citation to Roger Sessions for his life's work as a distinguished American composer."	[32]
1976	All works		Scott Joplin	"A special award is bestowed posthumously on Scott Joplin, in this Bicentennial Year, for his contributions to American music."	[33]
1982	All works		Milton Babbitt	"A special citation to Milton Babbitt for his life's work as a distinguished and seminal American composer"	[34]
1985	All works		William Schuman	A special citation to William Schuman for more than half a century of contribution to American music as composer and educational leader.	[35]
1998	All works		George Gershwin	"Awarded posthumously to George Gershwin, commemorating the centennial year of his birth, for his distinguished and enduring contributions to American music."	[36]
1999	All works		Duke Ellington	"Bestowed posthumously on Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, commemorating the centennial year of his birth, in recognition of his musical genius, which evoked aesthetically the principles of democracy through the medium of jazz and thus made an indelible contribution to art and culture."	[37]
2006	All works		Thelonious Monk	for his "body of distinguished and innovative musical composition that has had a significant and enduring impact on the evolution of jazz."	[38]
2007	All works		John Coltrane	for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."	[39]
2008	All works		Bob Dylan	"for his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."	[40]
2010	All works		Hank Williams	"for his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life."	[41]
2019	All works		Aretha Franklin	"For her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades."	[42]

	Awardee		Citation	Ref(s)
1944		William Allen White	"A scroll indicating appreciation of Mr. White's interest and services during the past seven years as a member of the Advisory Board of the Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University."	[43]
1947		Columbia University and the Graduate School of Journalism	"Columbia University and the Graduate School of Journalism, for their efforts to maintain and advance the high standards governing the Pulitzer Prize awards."	[44]
1948	–	Frank D. Fackenthal	"A scroll indicating appreciation of his interest and service during the past years."	[45]
1976	–	John Hohenberg	"A special citation and an antique plaque inscribed by all the members of the Advisory Board, expressing appreciation for his services for 22 years as Administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes and for his achievements as teacher and journalist"	[46]
1987		Joseph Pulitzer, Jr.	"for his extraordinary services to American journalism and letters during his 31 years as chairman of the Pulitzer Prize Board and for his accomplishments as an editor and publisher."	[47]