Since CBS pulled the plug on "The Late Show," Stephen Colbert has been accumulating recognition from his peers – and now he has another award to add to his résumé.
The 62-year-old comedian and TV personality was announced as one of the recipients of the Before Columbus Foundation's 47th annual American Book Awards on Wednesday, July 29. He will be recognized with the anti-censorship award at the Sept. 26 ceremony on the University of California, Berkeley campus.
Mitchell Kaplan, founder of the more than 40-year-old Florida independent bookstore Books & Books, will also receive the prize.
The awards, chosen by a committee of writers, recognize "outstanding literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s diverse literary community" published
over the previous year. "Mumbo Jumbo" author and poet Ishmael Reed, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, founded the nonprofit in 1976.
Nearly two weeks prior to the Northern California ceremony, Colbert is expected to be in Los Angeles for the 2026 Emmy Awards, where his "The Late Show" is nominated for nine awards.
Stephen Colbert's life after 'The Late Show': 'Lord of the Rings,' rare public appearances
"The Colbert Report" alumnus, a J.R.R. Tolkien superfan who is writing a new film in the "Lord of the Rings" franchise with his son, has made a few public appearances since he took his final bow after 11 years at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 21.
A day after "The Late Show's" finale, he stopped by a Michigan public access show to guest host because, as he joked, "It’s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV.”
Then in June, Colbert returned to the stage to celebrate his wife of 32 years, Evelyn McGee Colbert, stepping down as president of the New Jersey nonprofit organization Montclair Film.
Stephen Colbert was among the lineup of friends and loved ones who offered tributes to McGee Colbert, with the former late-night host serenading her with Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home to Me."
Colbert was also in attendance at the grand opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on June 18, which counted fellow late-night alumni Conan O'Brien and David Letterman among the star-studded crowd.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen Colbert receives anti-censorship award after 11-year 'Late Show' run
