Continuing Lessons in Journalism Pedantry

We were sleepily browsing last night's Publishers Lunch deal report early this morning, disappointed to see that nothing in it got us particularly excited. Then we happened across this entry, which at least intrigued us:

Crime and court reporter for the St. Petersburg Times (and two-time Pulitzer nominee) Christopher Goffard's SNITCH JACKET, a literary crime novel with a complex and morally ambiguous hero, to James Gurbutt of Harvill Secker, by Philip Patterson of Marjacq Scripts (UK/BC).

Why were we interested in this? Because there's no such thing as a "Pulitzer nominee." It's another teachable moment!

There are Pulitzer finalists, and there are Pulitzer winners. Finalists are the equivalent of, say, Oscar nominees — they're the contenders for awards, chosen by juries and announced at the same time as the prizewinners. We assumed this was just a terminological error, that Goffard is really a two-time finalist. But then we checked the Pulitzer database; no dice.

We presume, then, that Goffard is simply a two-time Pulitzer entrant. And how to get the exalted honor of being an entrant? You mail in an entry. With a check for $50.

Which means $100 just bought him a book deal.

The Pulitzer Prizes [Official site]