MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

This year's Pulitzer Prizes for arts and letters were announced today and went to a diverse group of voices. NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas gives us a rundown.

ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE: There are seven categories for the performing arts and books at the Pulitzers. This year, six prizes went to writers and creators of color. The winner for biography was "The Dead Are Arising: The Life Of Malcolm X" by the late Les Payne and Tamara Payne, a project that took nearly three decades to complete. The history award was given to Marcia Chatelain for her book "Franchise: The Golden Arches In Black America."

The general nonfiction award went to journalist David Zucchino, a previous Pulitzer winner, for his book "Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup Of 1898 And The Rise of White Supremacy." The drama prize was given to playwright Katori Hall for her play "The Hot Wing King," a comedy exploring Black masculinity. Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, won her second Pulitzer in the fiction category for her novel "The Night Watchman." And the poet Natalie Diaz, who is a member of the Gila River Indian tribe, won for her "Postcolonial Love Poem."

(SOUNDBITE OF NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC PERFORMANCE OF TANIA LEON'S "STRIDE")

TSIOULCAS: And the Cuban-born composer Tania Leon won the music prize for "Stride," a piece partly inspired by Susan B. Anthony.

Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR News, New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF BLUE MAN GROUP'S "ABOVE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.