1976, 1978, Fellowships from the Ingram Merrill Foundation.

1982, The Award for Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

1983, a Guggenheim Fellowship.

1993, made a Chevalier (later Officier) de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

1994, National Book Critics Circle Award for Genet.

1995-96, Critics 1 Choice Award, San Francisco Review of Books, for Skinned Alive.

1997, made a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

1999, made a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

2000, honorary doctorate, State University of New York at Oneonta.

2000, prize of the festival of Deauville (France) for my entire body of work.

2001, Ferro-Grumley Award from the Publishing Triangle for The Married Man.