( CNN ) -- The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times were awarded two Pulitzer Prizes each Monday for their outstanding work in journalism . The New York Times ' Clifford J . Levy and Ellen Barry won in the international reporting category for their work on the struggling Russian justice system , while the paper 's David Leonhardt won for commentary . The Los Angeles Times won in the public service category for its coverage of Bell , a small California city where officials ' sky-high salaries sparked national outrage and then arrests . The paper 's Barbara Davidson won for feature photography . Surprisingly , given big news stories last year like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the earthquake in Haiti , the prize board did not name a winner in the breaking news reporting category , a traditional favorite . Finalists in that category included the Chicago Tribune staff , for its coverage of the deaths of two Chicago firefighters , the staff at The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald , for their coverage of the Haiti earthquake , and the staff of The Tennessean for its coverage of a devastating flood , the board said . The Pulitzer Prizes are U.S. awards handed out once a year to recognize outstanding work in journalism and the arts . Read bios and more about this year 's winners . Jennifer Egan 's book , `` A Visit from the Goon Squad , '' won the award for fiction . Her book is about growing up and old in the digital age , the board said . In the music category , Zhou Long won for `` Madame White Snake , '' which was premiered by Opera Boston at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in February 2010 . Paige St. John of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida won the investigative reporting award for her coverage of the state 's property-insurance system . ProPublica 's Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein won in the national reporting category , while three photographers at The Washington Post won for breaking news photography for their work around the earthquake in Haiti . Here is a complete list of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize Winners : . JOURNALISM . Public Service -- Los Angeles Times . Breaking News Reporting -- No Award . Investigative Reporting -- Paige St. John of Sarasota Herald-Tribune . Explanatory Reporting -- Mark Johnson , Kathleen Gallagher , Gary Porter , Lou Saldivar and Alison Sherwood of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Local Reporting -- Frank Main , Mark Konkol and John J. Kim of Chicago Sun-Times . National Reporting -- Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein of ProPublica . International Reporting -- Clifford J . Levy and Ellen Barry of The New York Times . Feature Writing -- Amy Ellis Nutt of The Star-Ledger , Newark , New Jersey . Commentary -- David Leonhardt of The New York Times . Criticism -- Sebastian Smee of The Boston Globe . Editorial Writing -- Joseph Rago of The Wall Street Journal . Editorial Cartooning -- Mike Keefe of The Denver Post . Breaking News Photography -- Carol Guzy , Nikki Kahn and Ricky Carioti of The Washington Post . Feature Photography -- Barbara Davidson of Los Angeles Times . ARTS . Fiction -- `` A Visit from the Goon Squad '' by Jennifer Egan ( Alfred A. Knopf ) Drama -- `` Clybourne Park '' by Bruce Norris . History -- `` The Fiery Trial : Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery '' by Eric Foner ( W. W. Norton & Company ) Biography -- `` Washington : A Life '' by Ron Chernow ( The Penguin Press ) Poetry -- `` The Best of It : New and Selected Poems '' by Kay Ryan ( Grove Press ) General Nonfiction -- `` The Emperor of All Maladies : A Biography of Cancer '' by Siddhartha Mukherjee ( Scribner ) Music -- `` Madame White Snake ' '' by Zhou Long ( Oxford University Press )
The papers receive two awards each . A prize is not given in the best investigative reporting category . Greg Smith 's ` ` A Visit from the Goon Squad '' wins for fiction .