The William Dean Howells Medal is awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Established in 1925 and named for William Dean Howells, it is given once every five years, generally in recognition of the most distinguished American novel published during that period, although some awards have been made to novelists for their general body of work. The recipient of the award is chosen, by a committee drawn from the membership of the Academy, from among those candidates nominated by a member of the Academy.
Past winners
| Year | Author | Book |
|---|---|---|
| 1925 | Mary E. Wilkins Freeman | |
| 1930 | Willa Cather | Death Comes for the Archbishop |
| 1935 | Pearl S. Buck | The Good Earth |
| 1940 | Ellen Glasgow | |
| 1945 | Booth Tarkington | |
| 1950 | William Faulkner | |
| 1955 | Eudora Welty | The Ponder Heart |
| 1960 | James Gould Cozzens | By Love Possessed |
| 1965 | John Cheever | The Wapshot Scandal |
| 1970 | William Styron | The Confessions of Nat Turner |
| 1975 | Thomas Pynchon (declined) | Gravity's Rainbow |
| 1980 | William Maxwell | So Long, See You Tomorrow |
| 1985 | No award | |
| 1990 | E. L. Doctorow | Billy Bathgate |
| 1995 | John Updike | Rabbit at Rest |
| 2000 | Don DeLillo | Underworld |
| 2005 | Shirley Hazzard | The Great Fire |
| 2010 | Peter Matthiessen | Shadow Country |
| 2015 | William H. Gass | Middle C |
| 2020 | Richard Powers | The Overstory |
External links
- "The William Dean Howells Medal". www.artsandletters.org. American Academy of Arts and Letters. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
- "Margaret Atwood named honorary member of arts academy". www.bnd.com. Belleville News-Democrat. 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2015-05-08.