This moving series examines the development of a friendship between high school seniors Iven and Gary, which thrives not despite but because of the financial, legal, academic and family challenges they face. Baltimore Sun reporter Liz Bowie delicately details the mutual loyalty that … Read more
This story provides facts, reveals wrongs, while weaving a good tale and involving the reader in the lives of its characters. In the words of the piece’s editor, Bruce DeSilva: “In telling the story, we disdained the usual term-paper-indictment approach … Read more
This piece is plot-driven, yet builds character, as it illuminates conflicts created by human encroachment into fire-prone areas. The piece offers both adventure and context. With skillful asides, Foster alludes well to some of the “backstories” of the American West: … Read more
This is a narrative measured out in minutes. It is precisely and, as the Pulitzer board wrote in their commendation, meticulously reconstructed. Keller traces the minutes leading up to the tornado’s destruction of parts of a town, and also the … Read more
This piece is full of French’s signature muscular approach to theme and idea. He’s eager to frame a story, provide his "take." His gutsiness makes him an authoritative and compelling guide. He establishes themes at the outset. His themes in … Read more
This piece is built on well-written sentences, scenes with terrific dialogue and vivid characters. Montgomery poses a question—how to survive when survival was so tough even before the hurricane—which he resolves with a lovely scene. This story has a refreshingly … Read more
This is an efficient, clearly recounted story about the rescue of a fishing boat that got caught in Hurricane Katrina. The structure is coherent and divided well into its six sections. We wondered if the tale’s suspense might have been … Read more
Kiernan neither romanticizes nor demonizes her characters in this story. Her approach to the story is complex and intelligent. We like the lead, which imparts so much information in an innovative and intriguing way. We also like that this is … Read more
In this short piece, Benham must do justice to the bizarreness of the event and its details but not belittle the little girl’s fear and injury. We like the details that Benham provides, and the language she uses to do … Read more
This is a lovely series. We like the precision of the writing, the sensible yet sensitive attention to the protagonist’s complicated immigrant life. Persaud writes respectfully and with poise, never over-dramatizing or caricaturing. She weaves into the tale useful and … Read more
