from the AP news. Tartt's novel, a sweeping, Dickensian tale about a young orphan set in modern Manhattan, was published last fall to high praise and quick commercial success that has not relented. "The Goldfinch" has been nominated for a National Book Critics Circle prize and an Andrew Carnegie Medal and on Monday was in the top 40 on Amazon.com's best seller list even before the Pulitzer was announced.

Fans of the 50-year-old Mississippi native, many of whom still had strong memories of her 1992 debut, "The Secret History," had waited a decade for her to complete her third novel. "The Goldfinch" was published after the disappointing "The Little Friend." The Pulitzer will likely ensure her place among the elite of contemporary fiction writers and make "The Goldfinch" a million seller.