( CNN ) -- The late country music icon Hank Williams was among the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winners announced Monday . The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded a posthumous special award to Williams , who died in 1953 at 29 , for his lifetime achievement as a musician , praising the country legend for `` his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life . '' The board , chaired by Miami Herald Executive Editor Anders Gyllenhaal , decided on the `` special citation '' after a confidential survey of experts in popular music . `` The citation , above all , recognizes the lasting impact of Williams as a creative force that influenced a wide range of other musicians and performers , '' said Sig Gissler , administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes , in a statement . `` At the same time , the award highlights the board 's desire to broaden its Music Prize and recognize the full range of musical excellence that might not have been considered in the past . '' Only a few other musicians have earned special citations in music in recent years : jazz composers Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane each received one in 2006 and 2007 , respectively , and Bob Dylan captured one in 2008 . Williams set the country music standard with his music , including songs such as , `` Your Cheatin ' Heart , '' `` Cold Cold Heart , '' `` I 'm So Lonesome I Could Cry '' and `` Jambalaya . '' In the reporting categories , which make up the bulk of the Pulitzer awards , The Washington Post racked up four awards in a wide range of categories -- feature writing , commentary , criticism and international reporting . The latter was awarded for journalist Anthony Shadid 's series on Iraq as the United States started the troop withdrawal , leaving local leaders to `` struggle to deal with the legacy of war and to shape the nation 's future . '' The New York Times won the award for explanatory reporting for a detailed account of contaminated beef and other food safety issues , pointing out defects in defects in federal regulations . The Times also won the national reporting category for stories on the hazardous use of cell phones and other devices while driving . The highly coveted Pulitzer for investigative reporting was awarded to Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman of the Philadelphia Daily News and Sheri Fink , a reporter for the nonprofit , ProPublica investigative Web site , for their 13,000-word story , `` The Deadly Choices at Memorial , '' which chronicled how some New Orleans doctors made urgent life-and-death decisions after being cut off by Hurricane Katrina 's floodwaters . The story was published in collaboration with the New York Times Magazine . The win by the 2-year-old Web site marked a significant moment for the Pulitzer board , which has traditionally awarded such honors to newspapers and wire services . Other journalism categories were won by the Bristol ( Virginia ) Herald Courier for public service reporting ; The Seattle Times for breaking news reporting ; The Dallas Morning News for editorial writing ; syndicated cartoonist Mark Fiore for editorial cartooning ; The Des Moines Register for breaking news photography ; and The Denver Post for feature photography . Fiore 's animated cartoons appeared on SFGate.com , the Web site of the San Francisco Chronicle , had `` biting wit '' and reflected extensive research as well as his ability to `` distill complex issues , '' the board said . In the arts , Paul Harding 's `` Tinkers '' was awarded in the fiction category ; `` Next to Normal '' won in drama ; Liaquat Ahamed 's `` Lord of Finance : The Bankers Who Broke the World '' won in history ; T.J. Stiles ' `` The First Tycoon : The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt '' won in biography ; Rae Armantrout 's `` Versed '' won in poetry ; and David E. Hoffman 's `` Dead Hand : The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy '' won for general nonfiction .
Music Prize Board gives a posthumous special award to Hank Williams . Administrator : ` ` Board highlights the board 's desire to broaden its Music Prize '' In addition , New York Times wins four awards and Washington Post also wins four . Paul Harding 's ` ` ' '' wins one in fiction category .