In 2001, Zélia Gattai was elected to seat 23 of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, formerly occupied by Jorge Amado. Its first occupant was Machado de Assis and its patron is José de Alencar. That same year, she was elected to the academies of letters of Bahia and Ilhéus. She was officially instated as a member of all three in 2002.

Zélia Gattai received the São Paulo Literary Breakthrough Award in 1979 for her first book, Anarquistas graças a Deus (Anarchists, Thank God). The following year, she won the Press Association Award, the McKeen Award and the Dante Alighieri Trophy. The Bahia State Department of Education gave her the Castro Alves Medal in 1987. In 1988, she received the Avon Trophy for outstanding cultural achievement and the Highlight of the Year Award for her book Jardim de inverno (Winter Garden). Her memoir Chão de meninos (Children's Ground) garnered the Alejandro José Cabassa Award from the Brazilian Writers' Union in 1994.