Accio, literary award!

On Monday, PEN America announced that Harry Potter creator, Twitter all-star and all-around good human J.K. Rowling will receive the 2016 PEN/ Allen Foundation Literary Service Award at PEN’s annual Literary Gala on May 16.

Each year, the Literary Service Award is given to a critically acclaimed author whose work embodies PEN’s mission to oppose repression in any form and champion the best of humanity. Previous winners have included Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison and Salman Rushdie.

Rowling certainly fits the bill for the prize. In addition to her famed writing career, Rowling created the Volant Charitable Trust, which funds multiple sclerosis research and projects that alleviates social deprivation, with a focus on women’s and children’s issues. She also founded Lumos, an non-profit organization that works to support the 8 million children in institutions worldwide to regain their right to a family life.

When speaking of the award, PEN America president Andrew Solomon praised Rowling, noting, “A gifted storyteller, fierce opponent of censorship, advocate for women’s and girls’ rights, and staunch defender of access to education, Rowling uses all of the tools at her disposal to create a better and more just world for our children.”

“I’m deeply honored to receive this award and humbled that my work has been recognized as having moral value by an organization I so admire,” Rowling told the AP in a statement. “I’ve long been a supporter of PEN, which does invaluable work on behalf of imprisoned writers and in defense of freedom of speech.”

Hermoine would be proud.