King gets honorary Book Award

Stephen King doesn’t have the literary reputation of Philip Roth or Arthur Miller, but now all three authors have something in common: an honorary National Book Award for lifetime achievement.

King, master of the horror story and e-book pioneer, is receiving this year’s medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters. The prize, worth $10,000, was announced Monday by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization that sponsors the awards.

“This is probably the most exciting thing to happen to me in my career as a writer since the sale of my first book in 1973,” King, 55, said in a statement issued by the foundation.