The 2011 Pulitzer Prizes in the "Letters" category saw honors bestowed on several beloved books, including two very different biographies: one about George Washington, and one about cancer. These awards are Character Approved for their recognition of literary excellence by American authors.

Taking the prize for Biography or Autobiography was Ron Chernow's Washington: A Life, which the jury called "a sweeping, authoritative portrait of an iconic leader learning to master his private feelings in order to fulfill his public duties." Chernow's book has been a favorite of booksellers--especially those that focus on history--since its publication last October.

The award for General Nonfiction went to The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. The official citation from the Pulitzer award jury describes the book thusly: "An elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science." The book was an instant bestseller when it came out last November and it was named one of the New York Times Top 10 Books of 2010.

The Pulitzer Prizes for Letters were established by the 1904 will of legendary newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer, and were first awarded in 1917. We offer our congratulations to the winners of this very prestigious literary prize.

[Image: The Pulitzer Prizes]