Ed Yong is the 2021 Pulitzer Prize Award Winner for Explanatory Journalism. The award is for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear presentation. Ed Yong, writing for The Atlantic authored "a series of lucid, definitive pieces on the COVID-19 pandemic that anticipated the course of the disease, synthesized the complex challenges the country faced, illuminated the U.S. government’s failures and provided clear and accessible context for the scientific and human challenges it posed." He has previously been awarded the George Polk Award for Science Reporting. His acclaimed book I CONTAIN MULTITUDES was published by Ecco on August 9, 2016.