Authors Barbara Kingsolver, Hernan Diaz win fiction Pulitzer Prizes

“Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver and “Trust" by Hernan Diaz were awarded fiction Pulitzer Prizes, marking the first time two awards were given out in the category’s history.

"Trust" won the Kirkus Prize for fiction, was on the long list for the Booker Prize and was named by The New York Times and The Washington Post as one of the year’s best books. Kingsolver’s novel, the story of a young boy’s struggles and persistence as he grows up in southern Appalachia, was chosen by Oprah Winfrey last fall for her book club and named by The Washington Post as a top release of 2022.

The 68-year-old Kingsolver has long woven social issues into her novels, which also include "The Bean Trees" and the Winfrey choice "The Poisonwood Bible," and helped establish the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Speaking by phone Monday, the author said she regards the Pulitzer as an affirmation not just of her novel, but of a misunderstood and overlooked part of the country. Kingsolver is a longtime resident of Appalachia who currently lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia, and set "Demon Copperhead" close by.