The winners and finalists of the 2025 Pulitzer Prizes were announced on May 5, 2025, recognizing excellence in "journalism, arts and letters" in the United States. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes consist of two-dozen annual awards given by Columbia University in New York.
This year, two NYU Tisch alumni were recognized in the Books, Drama, and Music category as a winner and a finalist. See the full list of winners and finalists here, and the Tisch alumni below.
Books, Drama, and Music
Drama
Winner:
Purpose, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins '07 (MA, Performance Studies)
A play about the complex dynamics and legacy of an upper middle class African-American family whose patriarch was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement, a skillful blend of drama and comedy that probes how different generations define heritage.
Finalist:
The Ally, by Itamar Moses '03 (MFA, Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing)
A timely drama about activism, conflicting expectations, and moral responsibility on a college campus, probing American identity and the contradictions within progressive politics, using richly drawn characters with a deep emotional resonance.
*We apologize for omissions! Please send edits or additions to tsoa.alumni@nyu.edu.