Novelist Percival Everett and playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins among Pulitzer winners in the arts

'James' won the Pulitzer, but not without complications

When Percival Everett's novel "James" won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction Monday, it seemed like an obvious choice. Everett's subversive reimagining of "Huckleberry Finn" had already landed critical acclaim and a string of literary honors, including the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize.

In James, Percival Everett inverts the protagonism of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", published in 1884, and tells history from the perspective of the slave. The book has already been published in Portugal.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Wins His First Pulitzer for Purpose

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ‘Purpose’ after two previous nominations. Plus, Vulture’s own theater critic Sara Holdren is a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.

Novelist Percival Everett and playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins among Pulitzer winners in the arts

Percival Everett’s novel “James,” his radical re-imagining of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from the perspective of the enslaved title character, has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

With its unique reinterpretation of the classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, American writer Percival Everett's novel James has just won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in fiction.

LaTanya Richardson Jackson Was Done With Acting. Then She Read the Script for Purpose

She was recovering from surgery when she got the offer for Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play; it's now led to her third Tony nomination.