 In 1981, Marlette became the first cartoonist ever awarded a Nieman Fellowship.He won every major award for editorial cartooning, including the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, the National Headliner Award for Consistently Outstanding Editorial Cartoons (three times) and first prize in the John Fischetti Memorial Cartoon Competition (twice).In 1997, he won his second Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.