NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The has revised its longtime rules on eligibility for many of and will now allow those not born in the U.S. and other non-citizens to compete.
The board announced Tuesday that permanent residents and those who have made the U.S. their longtime primary home will be eligible in the categories for books, drama and music. The changes go into effect for the 2025 awards cycle, which begins next spring.
鈥淭he Board is enthusiastic about ensuring that the Prizes are inclusive and accessible to those producing distinguished work in Books, Drama and Music," board co-chairs Tommie Shelby and Neil Brown said in a statement. 鈥淭his expansion of eligibility is an appropriate update of our rules and compatible with the goals Joseph Pulitzer had in establishing these awards.鈥�
Last August, hundreds of writers endorsed an open letter calling for the Pulitzer board to permit non-U.S. citizens to compete. Signers included Sandra Cisneros, Brit Bennett, Dave Eggers and Pulitzer winners Andrew Sean Greer and Diane Seuss.
Joseph Pulitzer founded the prizes in 1917 with a mission to honor 鈥淎merican鈥� journalism and literature. judges already accept nominees of other nationalities, as long as the work was published in the U.S., a requirement which also applies to the arts categories.
The new rules actually tighten eligibility which previously could be written by authors of any nationality as long as they were about the U.S. 鈥淔or the sake of consistency,鈥� the board decided, history will now have the same guidelines as those for books, dramas and music.
The Associated Press
