His name appeared twice among the short-listed award winners of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in the years of 2014, 2016 / University of Oklahoma, perceived as the American Nobel Prize. In recognition of his achievement and contribution to Arabic and Palestinian literature, Ghassan Zaqtan was awarded the National Medal of Honor by the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in June 2013. His name appeared for the first time in the fall of 2013 among the speculation list for the Nobel Prize in Literature.