Not Pynchon, but the Pulitzer Board of 1973--74.

[Mark Kohut]

We know the Pulitzer Board of 1974 refused to give GRAVITY's RAINBOW the Pulitzer Prize ( which few knew TRP would reject anyway). GR was the unanimous recommendation of the solid judges. 

From Ben Bradlee stuff today, I learned that the Board did not even have the Washington Post 
Watergate reporting in their Top 5 finalists the year before ( Board changes slowly), so pressure came from prestigious journalists, like Scotty Reston at the NYTimes to MAKE SURE the Post got an award. ( It was 1973, for 1972 reporting so Nixon is still riding high, etc), 

the Award was for Public Service and Bradlee himself thinks there was IMMEDIATE resentful payback: At least two other rumored WA PO Pulitzer " sure things" that year, lost. 
The Board's Revenge. 

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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l