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Some members of the book community were outraged when the announcement was made that there would not be a Pulitzer Prize awarded for fiction this year, the first time in 35 years that such an event had occurred and the eleventh time in the prize鈥檚 history.

For the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, a fiction jury chose three candidates and submitted them to the Pulitzer Prize board, selecting 鈥淪wamplandia!鈥� by Karen Russell, 鈥�The Pale King鈥� by David Foster Wallace and 鈥淭rain Dreams鈥� by Denis Johnson. Per awards procedure, it was the Pulitzer Prize board members who then decided that none of the three finalists would receive the award.

One of the three jurors who chose the three finalists has publicly expressed their displeasure with the Pulitzer committee鈥檚 decision.

听闯耻谤辞谤 Susan Larson, host of the National Public Radio program 鈥淭he Reading Life,鈥� told that she and the rest of the jurors are 鈥渟hocked 鈥� angry 鈥� and very disappointed鈥� over the decision.

鈥淭his was a lot of work,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think we all would have been happy if any of [the three] books had been selected.鈥�

She and the other two jurors, previous Pulitzer winner for fiction Michael Cunningham and NPR 鈥淔resh Air鈥� host Maureen Corrigan, don鈥檛 know why the Pulitzer committee did not select a winner, said Larson.

Administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes Sig Gissler told that none of the three nominated novels received a majority from the Pulitzer board.

鈥淲henever they make a decision, it鈥檚 not meant to be a statement about fiction in general,鈥� Gissler told . 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a statement that none was able to receive a majority.鈥�

Paul Bogaards, director of publicity at 鈥淪wamplandia!鈥� publisher Alfred A. Knopf, said the lack of a winner was a disappointment partly because of the sales numbers a win can bring.

鈥淚t's the most significant award in American letters and it's a shame the jury couldn't find a work of fiction this year,鈥� Bogaards told the AP. 鈥淭he Pulitzer makes sales. It's a prize that can change the career trajectory of a writer.鈥�

Previous Pulitzer winner Jane Smiley expressed her displeasure on her Facebook page.

鈥淚 can't believe there wasn't a worthy one,鈥� the author told the Associated Press. 鈥淚t's a shame. But sometimes a selection committee really cannot agree, and giving no award is the outcome. Too bad.鈥�

Little, Brown and Company editor Michael Pietsch, who edited 鈥淭he Pale King,鈥� said he saw the finalist status of 鈥淧ale King鈥� as a reward in itself.

鈥淎nything that brings readers to David's brilliant novels, especially his great novel `Infinite Jest,' is a good thing!鈥� he told the Associated Press.

The last time a fiction award was not given was in 1977, when the fiction jury chose the Norman MacLean work 鈥�A River Runs Through It鈥� as its recommendation for winner, but the Pulitzer board did not award the prize. On some occasions when an award has been withheld, the reason for the decision has come out 鈥� in 1941, the fiction jury said the award should be given to Ernest Hemingway鈥檚 novel 鈥淔or Whom the Bell Tolls,鈥� and the Pulitzer Board was willing to select it until the Columbia University president asked the board to change its mind because he found the novel offensive. Columbia administers the Pulitzer Prizes.

2012 Pulitzer winners in other categories included an award in history for Manning Marable for his book "Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention"; an award in biography to John Lewis Gaddis for "George F. Kennan: An American Life"; an award in nonfiction to Stephen Greenblatt for "The Swerve: How the World Became Modern"; an award in drama to Quiara Alegr铆a Hudes for "Water by the Spoonful";听 an award in poetry to Tracy K. Smith for "Life on Mars"; and an award in music to Kevin Puts for "Silent Night: An Opera in Two Acts."听 听

Molly Driscoll is a Monitor contributor.