Round Table Author Kevin Fitzpatrick Named Final Judge of 2009 Benchley Writing Contest

Kevin C. Fitzpatrick Kevin has been a past judge of the competition. He is the president of the RBS Fascinating Crimes chapter in New York. In 1999 he founded the Dorothy Parker Society and serves as president. He is the author of "A Journey into Dorothy Parker's New York" and with Nat Benchley, is the co-editor of the new book "The Lost Algonquin Round Table" (Donald Books-iUniverse).

Link for the book: http://www.donaldbooks.com/catalogue.html

Semi-Finalists Announced in RBS Humor Competition

The Robert Benchley Society Announces the Semi-Finalists (in alphabetical order) in the 2009 Robert Benchley Society Humor Award Competition:

• Con Chapman of Weston, Mass. for Foundations of Western Logic
  
• L.J. Diehl of Sterling Heights, Mich. for A Guide to Parenting in the 21st Century
  
• Brenda Pontiff of Los Angeles, Calif. for A Teensy Weensy Renaissance
  
• Felice Prager of Scottsdale, Arizona for How to Kill a Scorpion
  
• Laura Pryor of Clarkston, Mich. for Starbucks Amuck
  
• B. Elwin Sherman of Bethlehem, N.H. for A Woman At Home
  
• Ed Tasca of Toronto, Ontario for Let’s Click Up the Old Gang Sometime
  
• Mike Tuck of Eden Prairie, Minn. for Name That Landmark
  
• Carl Vine of Johnstown, Ohio for Simple Instructions for Completing Any Tax Form
  
• George Waters of Pasadena, Calif. for How to Build a Gate

Preliminary Judges of RBS Competition Complete Work

The preliminary judges of the 2009 Robert Benchley Society Humor Award Competition have completed their work of choosing the top ten out of 46 entries received. This year's judges were:

• Author of Robert Benchley An Annotated Bibliography, Gordon E. Ernst
  
• Writer and RBS Director, Eileen Forster Keck;
  
• puzzle designer RBS Vice Chairman, Chris Morgan;
  
• 2007 RBS Humor Award winner, Daniel Montville;
  
• Radio personality and chairman of A Moderate State of Preservation Chapter (Ann Arbor, Mich.) of RBS, Tom Saunders;
  
• RBS Director Pamela Siska and
  
• Robert Benchley Society Chairman David Trumbull

.The RBS regrets that judging of this years competition is running a bit behind schedule as the Society President has been in Washington, D.C. lobbying the Obama Administration of stimulus money for the nation's vital humor industry.