Barry Hannah was in Paris on the centennial of William Faulkner's birth to receive the prestigious Faulkner Award for Literature for his collection of short stories Bats Out of Hell. The award, given to Hannah by the William Faulkner Foundation of Rennes, France, honors the work of American Southern writers as part of the foundation's objective to promote literary and cultural exchanges between the United States and France. The Rennes Faulkner Foundation hosted four days of receptions and lectures celebrating American Southern literature and culture during the week of Faulkner's 100th birthday.

Hannah has been a writer in residence at the University of Mississippi since 1985. He received the William Faulkner Prize for his first novel, Geronimo Rex (1972), and the Arnold Gingrich Short Fiction Award for Airships (1978), a collection of stories. His achievement in fiction has been honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.