Stephen Colbert Receives Anti-Censorship Honor as CBS Cancels Late-Night Program

Stephen Colbert has been recognized with an anti-censorship award following the conclusion of his 11-year tenure as host of CBS’s “The Late Show,” a program marked by his critical commentary on President Donald Trump. The Before Columbus Foundation, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Oakland, California, presented Colbert with the honor as part of the 47th American Book Awards announced Wednesday.

CBS terminated Colbert’s program in May, citing economic constraints for the decision to end the late-night show. However, Colbert and other observers have cast doubt on the network’s stated rationale for removing one of Trump’s most visible media critics from the airwaves.

Colbert shares the anti-censorship prize with Mitchell Kaplan, founder of the independent bookstore Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida. The foundation also bestowed editor and publisher awards on Morgan Entrekin of Grove/Atlantic and Roger Malina, executive editor of the academic journal Leonardo.

The Before Columbus Foundation, established by author-playwright-publisher Ishmael Reed, presented awards across multiple literary categories this year. Recipients included biographer Nicholas Boggs for “Baldwin,” a study of writer James Baldwin; religious commentator John Fugelsang for “Separation of Church and Hate”; and poet Adela Najarro for “Variations in Blue.” Novelist-playwright Karen Tei Yamashita received the lifetime achievement award.

The foundation celebrates literary work spanning America’s diverse cultural landscape without imposing diversity quotas, organizers noted. The awards recognize both established and emerging writers, reflecting the breadth of American letters across all communities.