Robert Benchley Society Names Top Ten in 2011 Humor Writing Competition

BOSTON, JUNE 1, 2011 -- The Robert Benchley Society is happy to announce the top ten semi-finalists in the 2011 RBS Annual Humor Writing Award Competition. "Once again, we had the pleasure of receiving many fine entries and I thank our preliminary judges who had the difficult task of assigning a ranking to the essays," said David Trumbull, Chairman of the Robert Benchley Society. This year's semi-finalists, in alphabetical order:

• Mike Ball of Whitmore Lake, Mich., for The Gospel According to Saint Pauli
  
• Barb Best of Sherman Oaks, Calif., for Dial “M” for Maddening
  
• Dan Burt of Millbrook, Alabama, for How to Stack Things
  
• Rebecca Cardwell of Calgary Alberta, for How to Get Your Dog to Lose Weight
  
• David Crawford of Kelowna, British Columbia, for Size Matters
  
• Robert G. Ferrell of La Vernia, Texas, for Up the Greek Without a Paddle
  
• Tim French of Midway, Alabama, for The Old Man and the Leaf Blower
  
• Steve Shrott of Toronto, Ontario, for Unblocking the Block
  
• Edward Southerland of Sherman Texas, for Certificates of Authenticity
  
• Agata Stanford of Glens Falls, New York, for Report from the Chairman of the Adventurers Club

These top ten essays have been forwarded to humorist Mark Russell, who will decide on the final four, ranked in order from first place. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, July 5th, and the awards will be presented at the Robert Benchley Society Annual Awards Dinner on Saturday, November 12th, at the University Club of Washington, D.C. For details about the dinner and other activities planned for the Eighth International Annual Gathering "A Capitol Idea," November 11-13, 2011, CLICK HERE. Register NOW and avoid the July 1st price increase. This year's preliminary judges:

• Gordon Ernst, of Morgantown, W.V., author of Robert Benchley: An Annotated Bibliography, and a Director of the RBS
  
• Eileen Forster Keck, of Providence, R.I., a Director of the RBS
  
• Sharon Lyon, of Ottawa, Ontario, Secretary of the RBS
  
• Dan Montville, of Oak Park, Ill., author of Disabled Fables, 2008 1st place winner of the RBS Humor Writing Award, and Director of the RBS
  
• Tom Saunders, of Whitmore Lake, Mich., author of The Athletic Benchley, President of the “Moderate State of Preservation” Chapter of the RBS
  
• Ed Tasca, of Toronto, Ontario, 2009 1st place winner of the RBS Humor Writing Award, and Director of the RBS.