The TIL Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed annually to distinguished writers from Texas or in some way associated with the state. The honorees are chosen by the TIL Council from nominations made by the membership.
Winners
1981: Thomas C. Lea III (1907–2001)
1982: John Graves (1920–2013)
1983: William A. Owens (1905–1990)
1984: Larry McMurtry (1936–2021)
1985: Donald Barthelme (1931–1989)
1987: Elmer Kelton (1926–2009)
1987: A.C. Greene (1923–2002)
1988: Charles Leland “Doc” Sonnichsen (1901–1991)
1989: John Edward Weems (1924–1999)
1990: Marshall Northway Terry, Jr. (1931–2016)
1991: Margaret Cousins (1905–1996)
1992: Vassar Miller (1924–1998)
1993: Horton Foote (1916–2009)
1994: Américo Paredes (1915–1999)
1995: William Humphrey (1924–1997)
1996: Cormac McCarthy (1933–2023)
1997: Rolando Hinojosa-Smith (1929–2022)
1998: Robert Flynn (born 1932)
1999: Walt McDonald (1934–2022)
2000: Leon Hale (1921–2021)
2001: William H. Goetzmann (1930–2010)
2002: Shelby Hearon (1931–2016)
2003: Bud Shrake (1931–2009)
2004: T. R. Fehrenbach (1925–2013)
2005: James Martin Hoggard (1941–2021)
2006: William D. Wittliff (1940–2019)
2007: David Joseph Weber (1940–2010)
2008: Carolyn C. Osborn (born 1934)
2009: Larry L. King (1929–2012) †
2011: C.W. Smith (born 1940)
2012: Gary Cartwright (1934–2017)
2013: Stephen Harrigan (born 1948)
2014: Jan Reid (1945–2020)
2015: Lawrence Wright (born 1947)
2016: Sarah Bird (born 1949)
2017: Pat Mora (born 1942)
2018: Sandra Cisneros (born 1954)
2019: Naomi Shihab Nye (born 1952)
2020: John Rechy (born 1931)
2021: Benjamin Alire Sáenz (born 1954)
2022: Celeste Bedford Walker (born )
2023: Beverly Lowry (born 1938)
2024: Carmen Tafolla (born 1951)
† Beginning 2011, the award date reflects the actual date of the presentation. For instance, Larry King’s 2009 award was actually presented in 2010.
