Stephen King among Quills Award winners

NEW YORK – J.K. Rowling, Jon Stewart and Stephen King were among the winners Tuesday night of the first annual Quills Awards, people’s choice book prizes better known so far to the industry than to the public.

Stewart’s “America (The Book)” won for best humor book and for best audio book. Stewart gave a brief monologue at the beginning of the ceremony but, in a comic twist, was unavailable to accept the prizes.

Rowling, author of the multimillion-selling Harry Potter books, won for best children’s chapter book for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

“I’m there with you in spirit,” Rowling said in a videotaped statement.

King and Stewart O’Nan won in the sports category for “Faithful,” their chronicle of the Boston Red Sox’s 2004 season, when the baseball team broke a decades-long jinx and won the World Series.