George Saunders G’88, acclaimed author and professor of creative writing in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named the winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters (DCAL) by the National Book Foundation. DCAL—a lifetime achievement medal that has been awarded to Toni Morrison, Robert Caro and Edmund White, among others, is awarded to “a person who has enriched our literary heritage over a life of service or a corpus of work,” according to the National Book Foundation.
George Saunders on campus
“George Saunders is the author of more than a dozen books—from short story and essay collections to novels and a children’s book—that offer an incisive, comedic and urgent perspective on our world,” says David Steinberger, chair of the board of directors of the National Book Foundation. “Throughout his career, Saunders has captured the imagination of readers and mentored countless writers in and outside of the classroom. It is our honor to celebrate his oeuvre and creative generosity with the 2025 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.”
“Congratulations to George on this well-deserved honor. This achievement is yet another example of the high caliber of faculty nurturing our students,” says Behzad Mortazavi, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Saunders has earned numerous accolades throughout his literary career. His novel “Lincoln in the Bardo” won the 2017 Man Booker Prize; his short story collection “Liberation Day” was named one of President Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2022; and three of his works were featured in The New York Times’ list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. Saunders’ upcoming novel, “Vigil,” set to be published by Random House on Jan. 27, 2026, follows oil company CEO K.J. Boone through a passage between life and death, where he must face the consequences of his actions.
Saunders will be presented with the DCAL Medal by Deborah Treisman, fiction editor at The New Yorker, at the 76th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner on Nov. 19 in New York.
