The late Charles M. Schulz will be the first recipient of the Harvey Kurtzman Hall of Fame Award, presented Sept. 6 at Baltimore Comic-Con as part of 27th annual Harvey Awards ceremony. News of the new award comes in a brief audio interview with convention director Marc Nathan posted on the We Read Comics blog of the Albany, New York, Times Union.

The award will be accepted by Karen Johnson, director of the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California, who will also present a panel at the convention showcasing unpublished artwork by the beloved Peanuts creator.

Schulz, who passed away in 2000 at age 77, has received numerous honors, ranging from the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award and Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award to the Will Eisner Hall of Fame and, posthumously, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Longtime Batman film producer Michael Uslan will serve as emcee of this year's awards ceremony. Writer Gail Simone will deliver the keynote address.

Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, the cartoonist and founding editor of MAD magazine, the Harvey Awards are selected entirely by creators. The full list of this year's nominees can be found here.

(via Bleeding Cool)