SUMMARY
Jahi Chikwendiu, a former Washington Post photographer, has won a 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography for a series documenting Tanner and Shay Martin. The photo essay captures the couple welcoming their first child while Tanner battled stage 4 colon cancer, a struggle that ended with his death less than six weeks after their daughter's birth. The Pulitzer committee described the work as "a heart-wrenching and achingly beautiful photo essay." The series highlights the increasing trend of cancer diagnoses among younger Americans.
TAKEAWAYS
Jahi Chikwendiu won a 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.
The award-winning series documents a young family facing terminal cancer.
The photographs capture the birth of a child and the father's subsequent death.
The series draws attention to rising cancer rates in younger adults.