Pulitzer Prize winners for 2010

April 12 (Reuters) - The following is a list of 2010 Pulitzer Prize winners, awarded annually by the Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University for outstanding works of journalism, letters, drama and music:

Awards for Journalism

* Public Service - Bristol (VA) Herald Courier for the work of Daniel Gilbert detailing the murky mismanagement of natural-gas royalties owed to thousands of land owners in southwest Virginia, spurring action by lawmakers.

* Breaking News Reporting - Staff of The Seattle Times for coverage of the fatal shooting of four police officers in a coffee house and the subsequent 40-hour manhunt.

* Investigative Reporting - Sheri Fink of ProPublica with The New York Times Magazine for telling of the urgent life-and-death decisions made in a hospital when exhausted doctors were cut off by Hurricane Katrina. Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman of the Philadelphia Daily News for exposing a rogue police narcotics squad resulting in an FBI probe and the review of hundreds of cases tainted by the scandal.

* Explanatory Reporting - Michael Moss and staff of The New York Times for reporting on contaminated hamburger and other food safety issues that spotlighted defects in federal regulation and led to improved practices.

* Local Reporting - Raquel Rutledge of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for reports on fraud and abuse in a child-care program for low-wage parents that fleeced taxpayers and imperiled kids, resulting in a crackdown on providers.

* National Reporting - Matt Richtel and New York Times staff for revealing the hazardous use of cell phones and other devices while driving, stimulating efforts to curb distracted driving.

* International Reporting - Anthony Shadid of The Washington Post for his 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.

* Feature Writing - Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post for his story about parents, from varying walks of life, who accidentally kill their children by forgetting them in cars.

* Commentary - Kathleen Parker of The Washington Post for columns on an array of political and moral issues.

* Criticism - Sarah Kaufman of The Washington Post for her dance criticism.

* Editorial Writing - Tod Robberson, Colleen McCain Nelson and William McKenzie of The Dallas Morning News for editorials about the stark divide between the wealthy and the poor in Dallas.

* Editorial Cartooning - Mark Fiore, self syndicated, appearing on SFGate.com, for his animated cartoons which had biting wit, extensive research and distilled complex issues.

* Breaking News Photography - Mary Chind of The Des Moines Register for her photograph of the moment when a rescuer dangling in a makeshift harness tried to save a woman trapped in the foaming water beneath a dam.

* Feature Photography - Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post for his portrait of a teenager joining the U.S. Army at the height of insurgent violence in Iraq.

Letters, Drama and Music

* Fiction - Tinkers by Paul Harding (Bellevue Literary Press), a debut novel in which a New England father and son transcend their imprisoning lives and offer new ways of perceiving the world and mortality.

* Drama - Next to Normal, music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, a rock musical about mental illness in a suburban family.

* History - Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed (The Penguin Press), about how four bankers played crucial roles triggering the Great Depression of the 1930s and ultimately transformed the United States into the world's financial leader.

* Biography - The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles (Alfred A. Knopf), about the self-made titan who revolutionized transportation, amassed vast wealth and shaped the economic world in ways still felt today.

* Poetry - Versed by Rae Armantrout (Wesleyan University Press), a book striking for its wit and linguistic inventiveness, with poems that are often little thought-bombs detonating in the mind long after the first reading.

* General Nonfiction - The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy by David E. Hoffman (Doubleday), about the doomsday competition between two superpowers and how such weapons still imperil humankind.

* Music - Violin Concerto by Jennifer Higdon (Lawdon Press), which premiered on February 6, 2009, in Indianapolis, which combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity.

* Special Citations: Hank Williams for his poignant and simple songs which expressed universal feelings and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major force in America.