During his life, Hawkes was awarded several prestigious honors, including a Lannan Foundation award, Ford Foundation and Guggenheim fellowships, and grants from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the Rockefeller Foundation. He was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Also attending will be former University colleagues, including Edwin Honig, the founder of Brown's Program in Creative Writing and the person responsible for bringing Hawkes to the University. A loyal cadre of former Hawkes students, including several famous authors, also will return to the University for the tribute. Among them will be Lori Baker, Alison Bundy, Mary Caponegro, Jeffrey Eugenides, Eurydice, Samantha Gillison, Jaimy Gordon, Rick Moody, Joanna Scott, Elizabeth Searle and Jim Shepard.
All events are free and open to the public.