1953
Fiction: RALPH ELLISON
Nonfiction: BERNARD DEVOTO
Poetry: ARCHIBALD MACLEISH

1954
Poetry: CONRAD AIKEN

1955
Fiction: WILLIAM FAULKNER
Poetry: WALLACE STEVENS

1956
Poetry: W. H. AUDEN

1957
Nonfiction: GEORGE F. KENNAN
Poetry: RICHARD WILBUR

1958
Nonfiction: CATHERINE D. BOWEN

1960
Nonfiction: RICHARD ELLMANN
Poetry: ROBERT LOWELL

1961
Poetry: RANDALL JARRELL

1963
Fiction: J. F. POWERS
Nonfiction: LEON EDEL
Poetry: WILLIAM STAFFORD

1964
Arts & Letters: AILEEN WARD
Fiction: JOHN UPDIKE

1965
Fiction: SAUL BELLOW

1967
Arts & Letters: JUSTIN KAPLAN

1970
Fiction: JOYCE CAROL OATES

1971
E. B. WHITE

1972
Children's Books:
     DONALD BARTHELME

1973
Fiction: JOHN BARTH

1974
Arts & Letters: PAULINE KAEL

1975
Arts & Letters: LEWIS THOMAS
Fiction: THOMAS WILLIAMS

1977
Children's Literature:
     KATHERINE PATERSON

1983
Fiction: GLORIA NAYLOR

1986
Nonfiction: BARRY LOPEZ

1992
Fiction: CORMAC MCCARTHY
Nonfiction: PAUL MONETTE
Poetry: MARY OLIVER

1993
Fiction: E. ANNIE PROULX
Nonfiction: GORE VIDAL
Poetry: A.R.AMMONS

1995
Nonfiction: TINA ROSENBERG
Poetry: STANLEY KUNITZ

1996
Fiction: ANDREA BARRETT
Nonfiction: JAMES CARROLL
Poetry: HAYDEN CARRUTH
Young People's Literature:
     VICTOR MARTINEZ

1997
Fiction: CHARLES FRAZIER
Nonfiction: JOSEPH J. ELLIS
Young People's Literature:
     HAN NOLAN

1998
Fiction: ALICE MCDERMOTT
Nonfiction: EDWARD BALL
Poetry: GERALD STERN
Young People's Literature:
     LOUIS SACHAR

1999
Fiction: HA JIN
Nonfiction: JOHN W. DOWER
Poetry: AI
Young People's Literature:
     KIMBERLY WILLIS HOLT

2001
Fiction: JONATHAN FRANZEN
Nonfiction: ANDREW SOLOMON
Poetry: ALAN DUGAN
Young People's Literature:
      VIRGINIA E. WOLFF

2002
Fiction: Julia Glass
Read Bob Shacochis' speech announcing Julia Glass as the winner.
Nonfiction: Robert A. Caro
Read Christopher Merrill's speech announcing Robert Caro as the winner.
Poetry: Ruth Stone
Read Dave Smith's speech announcing Ruth Stone as the winner.
Young People's Literature:
      Nancy Farmer
Read Han Nolan's speech announcing Nancy Farmer as the winner.

2003
Fiction: Shirley Hazzard
Read Antonya Nelson's speech announcing
Shirley Hazzard as the winner.
Nonfiction: Carlos Eire
Read Jonathan Kirsch 's speech announcing
Carlos Eire as the winner.
Poetry: C.K. Williams
Read Bruce Weigl's speech announcing
C.K. Williams as the winner.
Young People's Literature:
      Polly Horvath
Read Susan Campbell Bartoletti's speech announcing Polly Horvath as the winner.

2004
Fiction: Lily Tuck
Nonfiction: Kevin Boyle
Poetry: Jean Valentine
Young People's Literature: Pete Hautman

2005
Fiction: William T. Vollmann
Nonfiction: Joan Didion
Poetry: W.S. Merwin
Young People's Literature: Jeanne Birdsall