77 The Pulitzer Prize For Fiction Trivia Questions with Answers
77 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction trivia spans more than a century of American literary history, covering winning novels, authors, award years, posthumous honors, shared prizes, and changes in the award’s official name. Questions range from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces to works by William Kennedy, Steven Millhauser, Jhumpa Lahiri, and other major writers.
This collection is suited to book clubs, literature classes, pub quizzes, and literary game nights. Some clues are approachable if you know famous American novels; others require careful recall of publication dates, Pulitzer years, titles, and authors. It is especially useful for players who enjoy connecting individual books with the broader history of twentieth- and twenty-first-century fiction.
Which Steven Millhauser novel won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
Answer
Martin Dressler
Who wrote The Grapes of Wrath, winner of the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel?
Answer
John Steinbeck
Which 1934 novel by Josephine Winslow Johnson won the 1935 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel?
Answer
Now in November
Who won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Interpreter of Maladies?
Answer
Jhumpa Lahiri
Which John Kennedy Toole novel won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction after his death?
Answer
A Confederacy of Dunces
Who won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Breathing Lessons?
Answer
Anne Tyler
Which Upton Sinclair Lanny Budd novel won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1943?
Answer
Dragon's Teeth
Which 1970 Pulitzer-winning book is a collection by Jean Stafford?
Answer
The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford
Which Oscar Hijuelos novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1990?
Answer
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
Which Norman Mailer book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1980?
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The Executioner's Song
Which N. Scott Momaday novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969?
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House Made of Dawn
Which Allen Drury political novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1960?
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Advise and Consent
Who wrote Beloved, the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner?
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Toni Morrison
Which Ernest Hemingway novella won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953?
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The Old Man and the Sea
Which novel by Caroline Miller won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1934?
Answer
Lamb in His Bosom
Which novel by Oliver La Farge won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1930?
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Laughing Boy
Which novel by Ernest Poole won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1918?
Answer
His Family
What was the original name of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction before 1948?
Answer
Pulitzer Prize for the Novel
Which novel by Edward P. Jones won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2004?
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The Known World
Which short story collection won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1979?
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The Stories of John Cheever
Which novel by Saul Bellow won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1976?
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Humboldt's Gift
Which novel by Shirley Ann Grau won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1965?
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The Keepers of the House
Which novel by Edwin O'Connor won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1962?
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The Edge of Sadness
Which novel by MacKinlay Kantor won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956?
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Andersonville
Which novel by Joshua Cohen won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2022?
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The Netanyahus
Which novel by Carol Shields won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1995?
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The Stone Diaries
Which novel by Louise Erdrich won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2021?
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The Night Watchman
Which novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2016?
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The Sympathizer
Which novel by Adam Johnson won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2013?
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The Orphan Master's Son
Which novel by Jennifer Egan won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2011?
Answer
A Visit from the Goon Squad
Which novel by Larry McMurtry won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1986?
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Lonesome Dove
Which novel by Barbara Kingsolver won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2023?
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Demon Copperhead
Which novel by Philip Roth won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1998?
Answer
American Pastoral
Which novel by Willa Cather won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1923?
Answer
One of Ours
The Pulitzer Prize For Fiction trivia — quick answers
What are good Pulitzer Prize for Fiction trivia questions?
Strong questions ask players to match winning novels with their authors and award years. Other useful topics include posthumous winners, shared awards, the former title Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, and famous books such as The Grapes of Wrath, A Confederacy of Dunces, and Interpreter of Maladies.
How hard is Pulitzer Prize for Fiction trivia?
It is usually medium to difficult. Readers may know several celebrated winning novels, but a full quiz can demand precise recall of decades, authors, titles, and unusual cases such as awards given after an author’s death or shared by two novels.
Who won the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel?
John Steinbeck won the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel for The Grapes of Wrath. The novel follows the Joad family’s migration from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression and is widely regarded as one of Steinbeck’s major works.
Which novel won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction after its author’s death?
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Toole died in 1969, and the comic novel was published posthumously in 1980 after efforts by his mother and author Walker Percy helped bring it to print.
Which novels shared the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver shared the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with Trust by Hernan Diaz. Kingsolver’s novel reimagines David Copperfield in Appalachia, while Diaz’s novel examines wealth, marriage, and competing versions of a financier’s life.