Thurber Prize for American Humor
Encyclopedia
The Thurber Prize for American Humor, named after American
humorist James Thurber
, recognizes outstanding contributions in humor writing. The prize is given out by the Thurber House
. It was first awarded irregularly, but since 2004 has been bestowed annually.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
humorist James Thurber
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
, recognizes outstanding contributions in humor writing. The prize is given out by the Thurber House
Thurber House
Thurber House is a literary center for readers and writers located in Columbus, Ohio, in the historic former home of author, humorist, and New Yorker cartoonist James Thurber...
. It was first awarded irregularly, but since 2004 has been bestowed annually.
Award winners
- 1997: Ian FrazierIan FrazierIan Frazier is an American writer and humorist. He is best known for his 1989 non-fiction history Great Plains, his acclaimed 2010 best-selling opus Travels in Siberia, and as a writer and humorist for The New Yorker....
— Coyote v. Acme - 1999: The OnionThe OnionThe Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
editorial staff — Our Dumb CenturyOur Dumb CenturyOur Dumb Century: The Onion Presents 100 Years of Headlines from America's Finest News Source is a satirical humor book written by the staff of The Onion and published by Three Rivers Press in 1999. The chief editor of the book was Scott Dikkers, with specific sections edited by Robert D. Siegel,... - 2001:
- David SedarisDavid SedarisDavid Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist, writer, comedian, bestselling author, and radio contributor....
(winner) — Me Talk Pretty One DayMe Talk Pretty One DayMe Talk Pretty One Day, published in 2000, is a bestselling collection of essays by American humorist David Sedaris. The book is separated into two parts... - Henry AlfordHenry AlfordHenry Alford was an English churchman, theologian, textual critic, scholar, poet, hymnodist, and writer.-Life:...
(Special Honor Book) — Big Kiss - Andy BorowitzAndy BorowitzAndy Borowitz is a comedian and New York Times bestselling author who won the first National Press Club award for humor. He is best known for creating the satirical website , which has an audience in the millions...
(finalist) — The Trillionaire Next Door - Bill BrysonBill BrysonWilliam McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
(finalist) — In a Sunburned Country - Brett Leveridge (finalist) — Men My Mother Dated
- Jim MullenJim MullenJim Mullen is a Glasgow-born jazz guitarist with a distinctive style, like Wes Montgomery before him, picking with the thumb rather than a plectrum.-Biography:...
(finalist) — It Takes a Village Idiot- 2004: Christopher Buckley — No Way to Treat a First LadyNo Way to Treat a First LadyNo Way to Treat a First Lady is a satirical novel by Christopher Buckley, first published in 2002. The novel follows the trial of Elizabeth Tyler MacMann, a fictional First Lady accused of murdering her husband, the President of the United States.- Plot :...
- 2005: Jon StewartJon StewartJon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
, Ben KarlinBen KarlinBen Karlin is an American television producer. He is an eight time Emmy-winning American writer and executive producer best known for his work in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. He is one of three co-creators of The Colbert Report along with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart...
, David JaverbaumDavid JaverbaumDavid Javerbaum is an American comedy writer and former executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He was hired as a staff writer there in 1999, promoted to head writer in 2002 and attained EP status at the end of 2006. He has won 11 Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, two Peabody Awards...
and the writing staff of The Daily ShowThe Daily ShowThe Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
— America (The Book)America (The Book)America : A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction is a 2004 non-fiction book written by Jon Stewart and other writers of The Daily Show that parodies and satirizes American politics and worldview... - 2006:
- 2004: Christopher Buckley — No Way to Treat a First Lady
- Alan ZweibelAlan ZweibelAlan Zweibel is an American producer and writer who has worked on such productions as Saturday Night Live, PBS' Great Performances, and It's Garry Shandling's Show.-Early life:...
(winner) — The Other Shulman - Kinky FriedmanKinky FriedmanRichard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American Texas Country singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election...
(finalist) — Texas Hold 'Em: How I Was Born in a Manger, Died in the Saddle, and Came Back as a Horny Toad - Bill ScheftBill ScheftBill Scheft is an American comedy writer and novelist. He is best known for being a staff writer for David Letterman since 1991, during which time he has been nominated for 15 Emmy awards. He ran a weekly humor column "The Show" in Sports Illustrated from 2002 to 2005...
(finalist) — Time Won't Let Me- 2007:
- Joe KeenanJoe Keenan (writer)Joe Keenan is an award-winning screenwriter, television producer and novelist and openly gay American.-Early life:Keenan was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His family is Irish American and Roman Catholic. He has a twin brother, John, and two other siblings Ronald and Geraldine. He grew up in...
(winner) — My Lucky StarMy Lucky Star (novel)My Lucky Star is the third book by novelist Joe Keenan. It is a gay-themed comedy about three friends who get caught up with the movie business, blackmail, and handsome male closeted movie stars.... - Bob NewhartBob NewhartGeorge Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
(finalist) — I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This!: And Other Things That Strike Me As Funny - Merrill MarkoeMerrill MarkoeMerrill Markoe is an author, an Emmy Award-winning television writer and a sometime standup comedienne.-Career:Markoe attended the University of California, Berkeley, receiving a B.A. in Art in 1970 and an M.A. in 1972...
(finalist) — Walking In Circles Before Lying Down- 2008:
- Larry Doyle (winner) — I Love You Beth CooperI Love You Beth CooperI Love You, Beth Cooper is a 2009 comedy film directed by Chris Columbus. It is based on the novel of the same name, written by Larry Doyle, a former writer of The Simpsons. The film stars Hayden Panettiere and Paul Rust with Jack T...
- Patricia MarxPatricia MarxPatricia Marx is an American humorist and writer. She currently works as a staff writer for The New Yorker, and teaches at Princeton University....
(finalist) — Him Her Him Again The End of Him - Simon RichSimon RichSimon Rich is an American humorist, novelist, and television writer, best known for being the youngest writer ever hired on Saturday Night Live and writing the Thurber Prize-nominated humor collection Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations....
(finalist) — Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations- 2009:
- Ian FrazierIan FrazierIan Frazier is an American writer and humorist. He is best known for his 1989 non-fiction history Great Plains, his acclaimed 2010 best-selling opus Travels in Siberia, and as a writer and humorist for The New Yorker....
(winner) — Lamentations of the Father - Sloane CrosleySloane CrosleySloane Crosley is a writer living in New York and the author of best-selling collections of essays, I Was Told There'd Be Cake and How Did You Get This Number....
(finalist) — I Was Told There'd Be CakeI Was Told There'd Be CakeI Was Told There'd Be Cake is a New York Times-bestselling collection of essays by American writer and literary publicist Sloane Crosley.-Reception:In 2008, I Was Told There'd Be Cake paved the way for several funny female essayists... - Bruce DuckerBruce DuckerBruce Ducker is an American novelist, short story writer, and poet.Ducker has written eight novels and a volume of short stories. His poetry and short fiction appear in such journals as The New Republic, The Yale Review, Poetry, Commonwealth, The Southern Review and The Hudson Review...
(finalist) Dizzying Heights: The Aspen Novel - Don LeeDon Lee (author)Don Lee is an American novelist who spent his childhood in Tokyo and Seoul as the son of a State Department officer. He received his B.A. in English Literature from University of California, Los Angeles and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Emerson College. He has also served as the primary...
(finalist) — Wrack and Ruin - Laurie NotaroLaurie NotaroLaurie Notaro is a New York Times best-selling American writer.-Novels: *There's a Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble...
(finalist) — The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death- 2010:
- Steve HelySteve HelySteve Hely is an American writer.Hely has written for the television shows Late Show with David Letterman ; Last Call with Carson Daly, where he also served as an associate producer; American Dad; and 30 Rock...
(winner) — How I Became a Famous Novelist - Jancee DunnJancee DunnJancee Dunn is a journalist, author and former VJ. She is now a contributing editor at O, The Oprah Magazine but is mostly known for her work at Rolling Stone, where she worked from 1989 to 2003.- Background :...
(finalist) — Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo? - Rhoda Janzen (finalist) — Mennonite in a Little Black Dress
- 2011
- David RakoffDavid RakoffDavid Rakoff is a Canadian-born writer based in New York City who is noted for his humorous, sometimes autobiographical non-fiction essays. Rakoff is an essayist, journalist, and actor and is a regular contributor to Public Radio International's This American Life...
(winner) — Half Empty - Rick ReillyRick ReillyRichard "Rick" Paul Reilly is an American sportswriter. Long known for being the "back page" columnist for Sports Illustrated, Reilly moved to ESPN on June 1, 2008 where he is a featured columnist for ESPN.com and wrote the back page column for ESPN the Magazine...
(finalist) — Sports from Hell - Mike BirbigliaMike Birbiglia-Professional work:Birbiglia has released three albums, including My Secret Public Journal Live, which was named one of the best comedy albums of the decade by the Onion AV Club....
(finalist) — Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories