Michael Cavna catches up to Mark Fiore while Mark was in D.C. for the Cartoons and Cocktails event. Michael talk to Mark about how the Pulitzer has changed his life.
MC: You’ve had roughly a half-year to see the wonders of a Pulitzer win transform your life. So: How has it transformed your life — be it more clients, more attention or just better treatment ’round the house?
MF: Life after the Pulitzer has been wonderful. It didn’t take me long to realize that, even though it feels like it, winning the Prize is not like winning the lottery, after all the celebration, you go right back to work. I’ve actually felt more pressure to live up to the Pulitzer Prize, which I think is one of the best things about a prize like this — the never-ending post-Prize pressure to avoid professional slackery.
On the business side, yes, it made a bit of an immediate tangible difference, but the main difference is feeling like there are loads of opportunities on the plate before you. I’m finding, however, you still have to burn the midnight oil and work your butt off to make those opportunities a reality, whether it’s in online political animation or maybe-possibly-perchance television.