Which novel by Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961?

The novel by Harper Lee that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961 was To Kill a Mockingbird.

Published in 1960, Harper Lee’s debut novel is set in the fictional Alabama community of Maycomb during the Great Depression. Scout Finch recounts the experience of watching her father, Atticus Finch, defend Tom Robinson, a Black man wrongly accused of assaulting a white woman. The courtroom story is framed by Scout’s broader lessons about empathy, social prejudice, and moral courage.

The Pulitzer committee recognized the book for its powerful treatment of serious issues through a child’s perspective. It became a major bestseller and was adapted into a 1962 film starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch; Peck won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Readers sometimes confuse the award year with the publication year: the novel appeared in 1960, while its Pulitzer win came in 1961. Another common mix-up is assuming Lee won the prize for a later novel; Go Set a Watchman was published only in 2015.