A plaque was placed on author Philip Roth’s first childhood home in Newark, N.J., yesterday, and the nearby intersection of Keer and Summit avenues was renamed “Philip Roth Plaza.”

“Today, Newark is my Stockholm and that plaque is my prize,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist said.

Mr. Roth rose to literary prominence in 1959 with “Goodbye, Columbus” and has since written such acclaimed novels as “Portnoy’s Complaint” and “American Pastoral.”

A number of his books have been set in Newark and many scenes from the 2004 novel “The Plot Against America” occur in the two-family framed house on Summit Avenue. At the unveiling of the historic plaque, Mr. Roth gave a copy of the book to the current owner with the inscription: “To Roberta Harrington of 81 Summit Avenue from Philip Roth of 81 Summit Avenue.”

The ceremony was part of a tour of “Philip Roth’s Newark” led by the chairman of the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee, Elizabeth Del Tufo. Mr. Roth was born in Newark in 1933 and graduated from Weequahic High School in 1950. The tour also passed the Riviera Hotel on Clinton Avenue, where the author’s parents began their honeymoon.

During the tour, passages from Mr. Roth’s books were read aloud. The mayor of Newark, Sharpe James, concluded the tour at the Weequahic Branch Library by reading a passage from Mr. Roth’s work stating that the best a New Jersey writer can hope for is to have a rest stop named for him after his death.