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PEN literary service award recipient Stephen King attends the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Actor Morgan Freeman, left, chats with writer Stephen King at the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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PEN literary service award recipient Stephen King, left, and author Margaret Atwood attend the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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PEN literary service award recipient Stephen King poses with Simon & Schuster president Carolyn Reidy at the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Youth anti-gun violence activist Zion Kelly, left, poses with Parkland students and youth anti-gun violence activists Samantha Fuentes and Cameron Kasky at the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Publisher, CEO and president of Reading Eagle Company Peter Barbey, center, poses with detained Myanmar journalist Wa Lone's brother Thura Aung, left, and brother-in-law Win Khant Kyaw at the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Journalist Carl Bernstein and wife Christine Kuehbeck attend the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Writer Gay Talese attends the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Author Margaret Atwood, left, and Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle attend the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash attends the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Actress and gubernatorial candidate in the State of New York Cynthia Nixon attends the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Stephen King among the honorees at PEN America gala

By Associated Press New York State

PUBLISHED 1:45 PM ET May. 09, 2019

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen King has been presented an award by PEN America for literary service.

The author received his prize Tuesday night from Morgan Freeman, who starred in the film adaptation of King's "The Shawshank Redemption." King was praised by PEN, the literary and human rights organization, as an advocate for literacy and free expression.

PEN also honored student activists from the Florida high school where 17 people were fatally shot in February and two journalists imprisoned in Myanmar. CEO Carolyn Reidy of Simon & Schuster, which releases King's books, was the PEN America "Publisher Honoree."

PEN's annual fundraising gala was held at the American Museum of Natural History, where attendees included novelist Margaret Atwood, actors Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and PEN president Jennifer Egan.