Rush Limbaugh was awarded “Author of the Year” by the Children’s Book Council on Wednesday, despite early protests of his candidacy.

The announcement was made in New York City at the seventh annual Children’s Choice Book Awards gala, which benefitted the Every Child a Reader charity.

When Limbaugh was named among the contestants for the 2014 Children’s and Teen Choice Book contest, outraged liberals demanded he be removed from contention. But the book council refused.

The Children’s Book Council described the award on its website, saying:

The Children’s Choice Book Awards is the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by kids and teens. Young readers across the country voted in record numbers for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and at ccbookawards.com, casting more than 1,261,000 votes.

Limbaugh received the award for last year’s book, “Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans.” His recently released sequel, “Rush Revere and the First Patriots,” has seen tremendous success.

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