The honor was announced shortly before Carlin died in June at 71 of heart failure. This is the first time the prize will be awarded posthumously.

The Mark Twain Prize ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., will include Jon Stewart, Lily Tomlin, Joan Rivers, Bill Maher, Margaret Cho, Gary Shandling, Denis Leary, Lewis Black and Richard Belzer.

“He would have been humbly grateful,” Carlin’s longtime manager and best friend, Jerry Hamza, said. “Also, George, who throughout his career was perceived as an outsider or maverick, had a real desire to connect with other comedians. He loved being in that club.”

The Twain Prize was instituted in 1998 and first given to Richard Pryor. Recent recipients include Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Tomlin.