Texas journalists Mark Lamster and Aaron Parsley earn 2026 Pulitzers, recognized for powerful storytelling on growth, loss and the people at the heart of it all.
DALLAS — Two Texas journalists are among the winners of the 2026 Pulitzer Prizes, as announced Monday by the Pulitzer Prize Board.
Mark Lamster of The Dallas Morning News was awarded the criticism prize for his architecture writing, which the board praised for using “wit and expertise to amplify his opinions and advocate for city residents.”
Lamster often looks at the impact of rapid city growth, asking a simple question: who’s benefiting, and who’s getting left behind? His recent criticism has taken aim at proposals to demolish Dallas City Hall, the iconic structure designed by I.M. Pei. The building faces an uncertain future as city leaders weigh whether to abandon it or move forward with repairs that could exceed $1 billion.
Lamster has defended the building, arguing the city’s penchant for not taking care of its possessions, along with a willingness to erase its history and concede to moneyed interests, has placed City Hall in jeopardy.
The Dallas Morning News has earned 10 Pulitzer Prizes over its 140-year history, beginning with a 1989 win for national reporting
The feature writing prize was awarded to Aaron Parsley of Texas Monthly for his deeply personal account of surviving the deadly Central Texas floods of July 2025, a disaster that destroyed his home and claimed the life of his nephew.
On July 4, 2025, Parsley found himself at the center of one of the year’s most devastating news events. Flash floods in the Texas Hill Country killed more than 130 people, including his nephew, Clay Parisher. Within days, Parsley published a firsthand account of the experience online — a piece that later appeared on the cover of Texas Monthly and became the most-read story in the magazine’s 53-year history.
Titled “Where the River Took Us,” the feature recounts how floodwaters from the Guadalupe River engulfed his family’s home, sweeping both the structure and its occupants away. The story grapples with grief, survival and the vulnerabilities of infrastructure in flood-prone communities. The honor marks the first Pulitzer Prize for Texas Monthly.
Parsley, a senior editor at Texas Monthly, has long covered culture, entertainment and history across the state. In the months following the floods, Parsley and his husband, artist Patrick Kelleher, relocated to Lockhart with their cat, Sebastian.
First awarded in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes recognize excellence in journalism, literature and the arts. Journalism winners are selected by juries from a pool of more than 1,000 entries.