The graphic novel Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls, published by MCD in 2024, has achieved a remarkable milestone by winning the Pulitzer Prize on May 5. This prestigious accolade, considered second only to the Nobel Prize on the international stage, marks a significant moment in the world of literature and comics. Feeding Ghosts is only the second graphic novel to receive a Pulitzer, following Art Spiegelman’s Maus in 1992, which won a Special Award. Remarkably, Hulls' debut work triumphed in the regular category of Memoir or Autobiography, standing alongside the finest English prose literature.
Despite this historic achievement, coverage of the win has been surprisingly sparse. Since the announcement two weeks ago, only a few mainstream and trade publications, such as the Seattle Times and Publishers Weekly, along with one major comic book news outlet, Comics Beat, have reported on the event. This limited coverage is noteworthy given the significance of the Pulitzer Prize in journalism, literature, and music in the United States.
The Pulitzer Prize Board praised Feeding Ghosts as "An affecting work of literary art and discovery whose illustrations bring to life three generations of Chinese women – the author, her mother and grandmother, and the experience of trauma handed down with family histories." The narrative spans the lives of these three generations, beginning with Hulls' grandmother, Sun Yi, a Shanghai journalist who fled to Hong Kong after the 1949 Communist victory. Sun Yi’s subsequent bestselling memoir about her persecution and survival led to a mental breakdown from which she never recovered.
Hulls herself grew up witnessing the struggles of her mother and grandmother, grappling with unexamined trauma and mental illness. This led her to leave home for remote parts of the world, only to return and confront her own fears and traumas. In an interview last month, Hulls explained, "I didn’t feel like I had a choice. My family ghosts literally told me I had to do this. My book is called Feeding Ghosts, because that was the beginning of this nine-year process of really stepping into something that was my family duty."
Despite the success of her debut, Hulls has expressed doubts about continuing as a graphic novelist, citing the isolating nature of the work. In another interview, she stated, "I learned that being a graphic novelist is really too isolating for me. My creative practice relies on being out in the world and responding to what I find there." On her website, Hulls announces her intention to transition into an embedded comics journalist, collaborating with field scientists, indigenous groups, and nonprofits in remote environments.
Whatever path Tessa Hulls chooses next, the groundbreaking achievement of Feeding Ghosts merits widespread recognition and celebration beyond the confines of the comics world, affirming the profound impact and artistic merit of graphic novels.
