NEW YORK (AP) — This year's PEN America Literary Gala will be notable for the presence of “Saturday Night Live.” PEN, the literary and free expression organization, is giving “SNL” creator-executive Lorne Michaels its PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, which in previous years has gone to Toni Morrison, Stephen Sondheim and Patti Smith among others. The May 18 event will be hosted by Colin Jost, the longtime “SNL” writer and “Weekend Update” co-anchor. In a statement given to The Associated Press, PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said Michaels’ “unique brand of uproarious and fearless political and social sketches forever changed television and comedy.” “The political landscape wouldn’t be the same without SNL to offer up a weekly skewering of a hapless cast of characters from the halls of power in Washington — a merry time capsule of what gave us joy and jitters in moments of national exhilaration and peril,” she said.
Lorne Michaels of 'SNL' to be honored at PEN America gala