"For his haunting story about parents, from varying walks of life, who accidentally kill their children by forgetting them in cars."

• Fatal Distraction (March 8, 2009)

"For her refreshingly imaginative approach to dance criticism, illuminating a range of issues and topics with provocative comments and original insights."

The following articles were submitted:

• A One-man Movement (Jan. 11, 2009)
• Morris Bares 'Ol Mozart's Sensual Soul (Jan. 31, 2009)
• New York City Ballet's Fine Work: Beautiful and Too Soon Gone (Mar. 9, 2009)
• Ballet Must Make Room Onstage for More Than One Genius (May 10, 2009)
• The Dancing: That Precision, Grace--and a Wicked Groove (Jun. 27, 2009)
• Going to the Chapel & We're Gonna Get Jiggy (Jul. 25, 2009)
• A Modern Master's Dances, Stepping Into the Shadows? (Jul. 28, 2009)
• 'Dance' Has All the Right Moves (Aug. 5, 2009)
• With a Light Touch, Pilobolus Casts a Long Shadow (Oct. 5, 2009)
• In an Art Form That's Struggling to Stay on Its Feet (Nov. 22, 2009)

"For his rich, beautifully written series on Iraq as the United States departs and its people and leaders struggle to deal with the legacy of war and to shape the nation’s future."

The following stories were submitted:

• In Iraq, the Day After (Jan. 2, 2009)
• New Paths to Power Emerge in Iraq (Jan. 13, 2009)
• 'No One Values the Victims Anymore' (March 12, 2009)
• A Journey Into the Iraq of Recollection (April 1, 2009)
• A Quiet but Undeniable Cultural Legacy (May 31, 2009)
• Worries About A Kurdish-Arab Conflict Move To Fore in Iraq (July 27, 2009)
• In Anbar, U.S.-Allied Tribal Chiefs Feel Deep Sense of Abandonment (October 3, 2009)
• 'People woke up, and they were gone' (Dec. 4, 2009)
• 2003 U.S. raid in Iraqi town serves as a cautionary tale (Dec. 24, 2009)

"For her perceptive, often witty columns on an array of political and moral issues, gracefully sharing the experiences and values that lead her to unpredictable conclusions."

The following stories were submitted:

• The Principle At Stake at Notre Dame (April 29, 2009)
• Please Cry For Me, South Carolina (June 26, 2009)
• Nancy Drew, Supreme (July 15, 2009)
• A Tip for The GOP: Look Away (Aug. 5, 2009)
• A Miscarriage Of Propriety (Oct. 7, 2009)
• Obama vs. the full PC press (Oct. 28, 2009)
• When abortion isn't a choice (Nov. 11, 2009)
• Judging Sarah Palin by her covers (Nov. 22, 2009)
• The GOP's suicide pact (Nov. 29, 2009)

"For its compelling coverage of an Army psychiatrist, with long ties to Washington, who killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, a Texas military base."

• Shootings at Fort Hood (Nov. 5, 2009)

The Pulitzer board called David Hoffman's The Dead Hand "a well documented narrative that examines the terrifying doomsday competition between two superpowers and how weapons of mass destruction still imperil humankind."

• Live Q&A with David Hoffman (Sep. 21, 2009)