He spent a total of two semesters the University of Connecticut and graduated from Pratt Institute in 1950, also studying literature and creative writing at The New School.
His time at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, with daily commutes to Manhattan and frequent visits to jazz clubs, inspired the New York settings of his books.
These stories include "When Ben Awakened", "I Held Back My Hand", and "The Man Who Made a Nice Appearance", among others.
[4] Wallant has been compared to fellow Jewish-American writers of the postwar period such as Saul Bellow and Philip Roth.
Subsequent awardees have included Hugh Nissenson, Chaim Potok, Leo E. Litwak, Cynthia Ozick, Arthur A. Cohen, Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, Anne Bernays, Curt Leviant, Francine Prose, Jay Neugeborn, Daphne Merkin, Steve Stern, Melvin Jules Bukiet, Gerald Shapiro, Rebecca Goldstein, Thane Rosenbaum, Harvey Grossinger, Allegra Goodman, Judy Budnitz, Myla Goldberg, Dara Horn, Jonathan Rosen, Nicole Krauss, Ehud Havazelet, Eileen Pollack, Sara Houghteling, Julie Orringer, Edith Pearlman, Kenneth Bonert, David Bezmogis, Rebecca Dinerstein, Ayelet Tsabari, and Margot Singer, among others.