| 100% | JOHNHENRYDAYS | 13 | 2001 Colson Whitehead novel, about a historical festival, that was short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize: 3 wds. |
| 49% | THENICKELBOYS | 13 | 2019 Colson Whitehead novel, about the Dozier School, that won the Pulitzer Prize: 3 wds. |
| 43% | THENICKELBOYS | 13 | Colson Whitehead novel that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize (3 wds.) |
| 41% | JOHNHENRYDAYS | 13 | 2001 Colson Whitehead novel set at a West Virginia festival (3 wds.) |
| 41% | RAILROAD | 8 | "The Underground ___," Colson Whitehead novel that won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction |
| 41% | BOYS | 4 | "The Nickel ___," Colson Whitehead novel that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction |
| 38% | THESEVENAGES | 12 | Collection by 36-Across that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2002 (3 wds.) |
| 35% | JOHNHENRYDAYS | 13 | Colson Whitehead novel set at a West Virginia festival (3 wds.) |
| 34% | NICKELBOYS | 10 | Colson Whitehead's story of the Dozier School, that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (with "The") |
| 34% | TURNTURNTURN | 12 | 1965 #1 hit for the Byrds that had the subtitle "To Everything There Is a Season": 3 wds. |
| 33% | WHEREWEBELONG | 13 | Emily Giffin novel about a television producer reunited with the daughter she gave up for adoption (3 wds.) |
| 33% | HARLEMSHUFFLE | 13 | 2021 Colson Whitehead novel about a furniture salesman drawn into a life of crime: 2 wds. |
| 32% | GONEBABYGONE | 12 | 1998 18-Across novel about a missing woman that was made into a 2007 Ben Affleck film: 3 wds. |
| 32% | THEDARKHALF | 11 | 18-Across novel about a sinister supernatural twin that was released 30 years ago today (3 wds.) |
| 32% | ACTAFOOL | 8 | Single from Ludacris that was part of the soundtrack for "2 Fast 2 Furious," and was also nominated for a Grammy: 3 wds. |
| 32% | THEOVERSTORY | 12 | Novel by 30-Across that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2 wds.) |
| 31% | THE{NICKEL}BOYS | 15 | Pulitzer-winning Colson Whitehead novel about a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida |
| 31% | SHOOTTOTHRILL | 13 | AC/DC song that was a signature theme for Iron Man in "The Avengers": 3 wds. |
| 31% | RANDB | 5 | Genre of music that is short for "rhythm and blues": 3 wds. |
| 31% | THEREIVERS | 10 | "___: A Reminiscence," the last novel by William Faulkner that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: 2 wds. |
| 31% | THEHUNTRESS | 11 | Kate Quinn historical novel about the search for a war criminal after World War II (2 wds.) |
| 31% | CROOKMANIFESTO | 14 | 2023 Colson Whitehead novel that's a sequel to 47-Across (2 wds.) |
| 31% | STATEOFWONDER | 13 | 2011 novel by 28-Across that was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction (3 wds.) |
| 30% | CASTLESMADEOF | 13 | "___ Sand," a song by Jimi Hendrix that is about the temporary nature of existence and how nothing can be taken for granted: 3 wds. |
| 30% | TOOMANYRIVERS | 13 | Song by 17-Across covered by 40-Across that was a hit for Brenda Lee in the 1960s (3 wds.) |
| 30% | THESALESMAN | 11 | 2016 drama about a married couple performing in an Arthur Miller play that was the second Iranian film to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (2 wds.) |
| 30% | THEBEANTREES | 12 | 1988 Barbara Kingsolver novel about a young woman who cares for an abandoned baby: 3 wds. |
| 30% | THEOVERSTORY | 12 | 2018 novel by 32-Across that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2 wds.) |
| 30% | DAMN | 4 | Kendrick Lamar's album that was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music |
| 30% | THENICKELBOYS | 13 | Colson Whitehead novel set in a Florida reform school (3 wds.) |