Longlist, Carnegie Medal, 2015
Longlist, Folio Prize, 2014
Booklist Editors’ Choice, 2014
Notable/Best Books of 2014: Washington Post, Economist, Chicago Tribune, NPR, Houston Chronicle, Telegraph, The Daily Beast, Washington Independent Review of Books, ALA
Longlist, National Book Award, 2014
Longlist, Man Booker Prize, 2014
American Library Association “Library Read,” January 2014
Phil and Penny Knight Professor of Creative Writing, Stanford University, 2013
Amazon Top Ten Singles, 2012
Hurst Visiting Professor, Washington University, October 2012
Finalist, Arthur C. Clarke Prize (UK), 2011
Best American Short Stories anthology, 2011, 2009
Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Letters, 2010
Indies Choice Honor Book, 2010 and 2014
Society of Midland Authors Award Finalist, 2010
Stein Visiting Writer, Stanford, 2010 and 2013
Pushcart Prize, 2009, 2003
Samuel Fischer Guest Professor, Free University, Berlin, 2009
Notable/Best Books of 2009: Chicago Tribune, Kansas City Star, San Francisco Examiner, Oprah Book Club, King County Library System (WA), Booklist, New York Times, Washington Post Book World, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, American Library Association
Great Lakes Book Award Finalist, 2007
Boston Authors Club 2007 Reading List
Notable/Best Books of 2006, Kansas City Star, The Boston Globe, Christianity Today, Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, New York Magazine, Washington Post Book World, San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Kirkus, L.A. Weekly
National Book Award, 2006
Finalist, Pulitzer Prize, 2006
Ambassador Book Award, 2004
W. H. Smith Literary Award, 2004 (Great Britain)
Finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award, 2003, 1995, 1991, 1985
Dos Passos Prize For Literature, Longwood University, 2003
Notable/Best Books of 2003: Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Newsday, London Evening Standard, Time Out (London), San Jose Mercury News
New York Times Notable Book, 2009, 2006, 2003, 2000, 1998, 1995, 1991
Author of the Year, Illinois Association of Teachers of English, 2001
Corrington Award for Literary Excellence, Centenary College, 2001
Elected Fellow, Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois, 2000
Vursell Award, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, 2000
Lannan Literary Award, 1999
James Fenimore Cooper Prize, American Society of Historians, 1999
Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1998
Business Week Best Business Books of 1998
Swanlund Professorship, University of Illinois, 1996
Finalist, National Book Award, 1993
Time Magazine Book of the Year, 1991
MacArthur Fellowship, 1989
PEN/Hemingway Special Citation, 1985
Rosenthal Award of American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, 1985