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 (born 1920)
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. (born 1931)
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 (born 1933)
1997: Rolando Hinojosa-Smith (born 1929)
1998: Robert Flynn (born 1932)
1999: Walt McDonald (born 1934)
2000: Leon Hale (1921–2021)
2001: William H. Goetzmann (1930–2010)
2002: Shelby Hearon (born 1931)
2003: Bud Shrake (1931–2009)
2004: T. R. Fehrenbach (born 1925)
2005: James Martin Hoggard (born 1941)
2006: William D. Wittliff (born 1940)
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 (born 1934)
2013: Stephen Harrigan (born 1948)
2014: Jan Reid (born 1945)
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)
† Beginning 2011, the award date reflects the actual date of the presentation. For instance, Larry King’s 2009 award was actually presented in 2010.
