Awards & Recognition

National Book Critics Circle Award
Winner | Sons of Mississippi (2003)
Finalist | Hemingway's Boat (2012)
Finalist | Looking For The Light (1992)

National Book Award
Finalist | The Living and the Dead (1996)

Chicago Tribune Heartland Literary Award
Winner for Nonfiction | Hemingway's Boat (2012)
Winner | Sons of Mississippi (2003)

Accolades for Hemingway’s Boat
New York Times Best Seller (2012)
Chicago Tribune Top Pick (2011)
Newsweek Favorite Books (2011)
The Economist Books of the Year (2011)
Publishers Weekly Best Books (2011)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Books (2011)

Fellowships
National Endowment for the Arts (2012)
National Endowment for the Arts (2002)
Guggenheim Foundation (1999)
Lyndhurst Foundation (1985–1987)
Alicia Patterson Foundation (1980–1981) 

Teaching honors
Provost's Award for Distinguished Teaching from the UPenn (2005)

Other
Playboy Best Nonfiction Work of the Year | Seminary (1982)
New York Times Notable Book | The Living and the Dead (1996)
Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism of the New York Public Library Finalist | The Living and the Dead (1997)