''It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in front of a lot of people," wrote E.B. White in Charlotte's Web. Today's Times reports that two New Yorker types did just that (the first hed seems to have wandered over from Highlights for Children):

Just for Fun

Steve Martin was named yesterday to receive this year's Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Mr. Martin walked away from a successful career as a comic in the late 1970's to broaden his repertory. Since then, he has written plays and films and starred in offbeat movies like "Pennies From Heaven," "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" and "The Man with Two Brains," as well as box-office successes like "Parenthood" and "Father of the Bride" (and its sequel). Mr. Martin, 59, has also published two novellas and a collection of comic pieces. The center said that Mr. Martin, learning that he had won the prize, which will be awarded on Oct. 23, responded, "I think Mark Twain is a great guy, and I can't wait to meet him." JOHN FILES

PEN Drama Awards

The playwrights Wallace Shawn and Dael Orlandersmith have been named winners of 2005 PEN Literary Awards. Mr. Shawn, the author of "Aunt Dan and Lemon" and "The Designated Mourner," and Ms. Orlandersmith, whose works include "Yellowman" and "Monster," are recipients of the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Awards for Drama, which honor a master American dramatist (Mr. Shawn) and an American playwright in midcareer (Ms. Orlandersmith).