Thurber Prize for American Humor 2020 Finalists

The Thurber Prize for American Humor is a recognition of humor writing in the United States. A panel of national judges selects three finalists to attend the awards ceremony in Columbus, Ohio, where the winner is announced, presented with the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and awarded $5,000.

See who the finalists are at https://www.thurberhouse.org/current-finalists

2018 Thurber Prize for American Humor CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

See http://www.thurberhouse.org/thurber-prize/

2013 NSNC Conference: Lifestyles and the Writing Life

The National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC) will hold its annual Conference in Hartford, CT, June 27 - 30, 2013 at the Hartford Hilton. Registration is now open, as is the annual writing contest. Click here for details: 2013 NSNC Conference

The entire NSNC Board of Directors nominated a Program Committee and has worked diligently, since the untimely death of its president, Larry Cohen, and a few other mishaps, to pull this exciting conference together. Many impressive headliners will be there, including Dave Barry, who is being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award; original SNL writer, Thurber Prize winner and co-author of Lunatics, Alan Zweibel; popular public speaker and author of a hilarious new book It's Not That I’m Bitter, Gina Barreca; and many others.

There are still sponsorship opportunities open! If you are interested, please contact the NSNC Executive Director (director@columnists.com). The publicity will be amazing.

Who can register?
The NSNC says "If you’re reading this, you are. Whether you write for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, trade journals or other periodicals or for radio or video … whether you’re on staff, a freelancer, syndicated, self-syndicated or independent. We heartily encourage online and multimedia columnists, bloggers and similar Web reporters, commentators, analysts, humorists and essayists. We welcome retired or former columnists, journalism scholars and collegian columnists. And all those who want to write columns or blogs… And your guests!”

2013 Thurber Prize for American Humor Submissions are now being accepted!

A new year means a new Thurber Prize for American Humor, and from now until April 1, Thurber House will be accepting submissions for the 2013 prize! Books published in the U.S. in 2012 are eligible. Entry guidelines, rules, and application forms are available on our website. The winner receives $5,000, a commemorative plaque, and is invited to be a guest at a special ticketed event in Columbus, Ohio the following year.

The judges for the 2013 prize are Laurie Notaro, two-time Thurber Prize for American Humor finalist; Nate DiMeo, 2012 Thurber Prize for American Humor finalist; and Lisa Birnbach, co-author of The Official Preppy Handbook and True Prep: It’s a Whole New Old World. The winner will be announced at an event at Caroline's Comedy Club on Broadway in New York City on September 30, 2013.
Past winners include Calvin Trillin, David Rakoff, Christopher Buckley, David Sedaris, and others.

Entries must be submitted no later than Monday, April 1, 2013. Visit their website (http://thurberhouse.org/thurber-prize-for-american-humor.html) for more information and to download the entry guidelines and the application!

Thurber House Humor Prize Semi Finalists Announced

Thurber House has announced the 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor finalists. They are Mike Birbiglia, Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories; David Rakoff, Half Empty; and Rick Reilly, Sports from Hell: My Search for the World’s Dumbest Competition.

The winner will be announced on Monday, October 3 at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City where James Thurber once lived. Stay tuned to learn who won!

Another RBS Success Story

Robert Benchley Society member and winner of the 2009 RBS Award for Humor Writing, Ed Tasca, has just been declared the Grand Prize Winner for his new screenplay.

Ed’s screenplay, Vinegar and Brown Paper, won the 5th Screenplay Search Screenwriting Competition! The story, comprised of a wilderness battle of man against beast in an attempt to recover his wounded son and a back-story of a family disintegrating because of hidden secrets, is told with virtually no dialogue - a unique feat that makes the most compelling use of cinematic narrative.

Screenplay Search is one of the most respected competitions for screenwriters. The winner of the Screenplay Search Scriptwriting Competition will have his script presented to literary managers, producers and directors, who are looking for top-notch scripts for development and production.

From the Mail Bag

Dear Mr. Trumbull:

I wanted to thank you for posting the Thurber Treat Contest info. Without it, I never would have known about it, never would have entered, and thus definitely wouldn’t have been named a winner. I am very appreciative.

--Katherine J. Leisering.

An Interview with W. Bruce Cameron

The paperback edition of W. Bruce Cameron's bestseller, A Dog's Purpose, is released today. The interview that I had with him is syndicated at Associated Content from Yahoo. You can read it here An Interview with W. Bruce Cameron
As you know, Bruce has been named Columnist of the Year by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC). The awards ceremony is scheduled on Friday evening, June 24, 2011, at the NSNC "Rebound in Motown" Conference in Detroit.
During the Conference, there will also be "A Moderate State of Preservation" gathering hosted by Tom Saunders.

Congratulations, Bruce!

Benchley Editor Tom Saunders Wins National Indie Excellence Award

The National Indie Excellence Book Awards Salutes the BEST of the BEST in 2011.

Independent and self-published titles roar to the forefront of excellence in numerous genres.

Beverly Hills, Calif. – In the pinnacle year of the self-published book, The National Indie Excellence Book Awards is ahead of the curve with the announcement of the 5th Annual National Indie Excellence Award Winners finalists and the recipients of the Sponsor’s Choice Prizes.

Today Ellen Reid, founder of The National Indie Excellence Book Awards, released the names of the winners and finalists in this year’s contest www.indieexcellence.com said..."Excellence is not easy to achieve and the book industry needs it more than ever...the NIEA salutes authors and publishers who make excellence a priority."

Whitmore Lake’s Glendower Media (www.glendowermedia.com) has won the top place in the Humor category with its latest release The Athletic Benchley. This book is a reissue of all the articles done for The Detroit Athletic Club News by the master of nonsense and founder of the Algonquin Round Table, Robert Benchley.

Benchley was a prolific writer not only for the DAC News, but for Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Liberty Magazine and many others. His books were best sellers and the current release only enhances Benchley’s reputation as the High Priest of Sophisticated Humor. The editor of this book is Tom Saunders, himself a winner of the Robert Benchley Award for Humor in 2005. “But I was way down the list of winners,” Saunders explained. “So rather than let me enter again they made me editor.” Glendower Media publishes short run and niche books and also publishes the Robert Benchley Journal, called “The Articles Of Confederation.” “No one was using the title so we thought…..”

Competition for the top spots is fierce, with prizes exceeding $12,000 in value and the priceless opportunity to have one-on-one coaching with inside industry experts, including top media and public relations consultants, marketing experts, and others.

Next year's 2012 Award application deadline is April 30, 2012. For information and to enter, please visit: www.indieexcellence.com.

“The judges for this competition are industry leaders that take their responsibility very seriously. We had the best pool of submissions ever and it was not easy because of the excellent books we received in every category this year. I am constantly thrilled at the outstanding work we’re seeing,” Reid said.

The Athletic Benchley is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and glendowermedia.com. The editor is available for book signings, book clubs, talks about the Algonquin Round Table and hazmat removals.

A complete list of winners and finalists for the NIEA Awards is at www.indieexcellence.com/indie-results-2011.htm.

Thomas Saunders
Mobile Phone: 734-604-5347
E-Mail: tsaunders_48@hotmail.com
www.glendowermedia.com

News from Thurber House

Thurber House is located near downtown Columbus, OH at 77 Jefferson Ave in the restored home of James Thurber and his family. Here, from a recent electronic newsletter from Thurber House, are an event and activity that may be of interest to Benchley fans.

Joe Blundo Teaching Master Class at Thurber House. Joe Blundo is bringing his wit and wisdom to Thurber House! The popular Columbus Dispatch columnist will be teaching a Master Class on humor and column writing on Saturday, May 21 from 1-3 p.m. at Thurber Center, 91 Jefferson Ave. Class is limited to 25 students and the deadline to register is Tuesday, May 17.

Enter the 2011 Thurber Treat Contest! Do you like to fill in cartoon captions? Enjoy writing short stories? Or maybe just want to stretch the “write” part of your brain? If so, check out our 2011 Thurber Treat contest. This year they're asking contestants to pick one of three possible cartoons, create a caption for that particular cartoon and then elaborate on the caption with a fun story (limited to 1000 words). The deadline to enter is Friday, May 27. The three winning authors will be guests of Thurber House for dinner at the Wednesday, June 8 Literary Picnic, and will read their sage or silly entries.

For more information visit the Thurber House website, http://www.thurberhouse.org/

Thurber Cartoon Caption-writing Contest

This just in from Thurber House:

For this year’s Thurber Treat, writers are asked to pick one from a predetermined group of Thurber cartoons, create a caption for that cartoon, and then elaborate on the caption with a funny story, limited to 1000 words. The three winning authors will be guests of Thurber House for dinner at the Wednesday, June 8 Summer Literary Picnic, and will read their sage or silly entries.

Submissions are due no later than Friday, May 27, by 5:00 p.m.

More information at http://www.thurberhouse.org/the-thurber-treat-writing-contest.html.

W. Bruce Cameron Named Columnist of the Year by Newspaper Columnists Soc.

Syndicated columnist W. Bruce Cameron has been named 2011 Columnist of the Year by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. The full story is available HERE.

Above, 2005 Robert Benchley Humor Writing Award Winner Horace Digby Presents W. Bruce Cameron with the 2006 Benchley Humor Award at a Ceremony in Los Angeles.

In 2006 Bruce was chosen by Dave Barry as First Place Winner in the Annual Robert Benchley Society Humor Writing Competition for his essay Golf for the First Time.

The 2011 Benchley humor competition is open for entry now through April 30th. Our judge this year is Mark Russell whose topical and political humor and music parodies, have pleased us all for more than three decades in personal performances, television shows, and radio broadcasts. Mark Russell's own website is at www.markrussell.net. For more information or to enter CLICK HERE.

Semi Finalist in America's Funniest Humour Writing Contest.

My humorous article "The stimulant of choice" by Kerry Ashwin came in as a semi finalist on this web site: http://www.humorpress.com/Results/HumorShowcase-Index.htm
Now I know why my grade five teacher said "Must try harder". I knew her advice would come in handy one day.

RBS Announces Top Ten Entries in Humor Contest

The Robert Benchley Society is relieved to finally announce the long-awaited Top Ten Semi-Finalists (in alphabetical order) in the 2010 Robert Benchley Society Humor Writing Competition:

• Dan Burt, of Millbrook, Alabama for Parents Beware: Kids Learn Stuff
• Becky Cardwell of Calgary, Alberta, for Five Fun Ways to Tell Your Child He's Adopted
• Con Chapman of Boston, Mass., for Ten Habits of Highly-Organized People, and How to Avoid Them
• David Crawford of Kelowna, British Columbia, for The Contemporary Sneeze
• Katherine Leisering of, Parkersburg, West Virginia, for Poem Authenticated By Loone
• E. Mitchell of Palatine, Illinois, for The Sex Life of the Spineless Jellyfish
• Terry L. Stawar of Georgetown, Indiana, for The Strange Case of the Wayward Beef Roast
• Mike Tuck of Eden Prairie, Minn., for Story Time with the Children
• Rose Valenta of Chalfont, Penn., for How Government Plans to Achieve Potty Parity
• Denise Weeks of Richardson, Texas, for How to Watch TV

Benchley Humor Competion

There will be a Robert Benchley Society Humor Award Competition this year, but the dates are yet to be settled. The rules will be the same, or very nearly the same, as last year's.

Plans Being Made for Next Benchley Humor Contest

The Officers and Directors of the Robert Benchley Society recently conferred, by telephone, on plans for the Seventh Anniversary Robert Benchley Society Annual Gathering and Humor Award Ceremony, set for July 16-19, 2010, in Boston, Mass. At the same time planning was begun for this years Robert Benchley Society Humor Competition. Watch this blog for details and deadlines. In general, it was agreed, to keep the rules of last year's competition more-or-less unchanged; they can be reviewed on the Robert Benchley Society website www.robertbenchley.org.

Save the Date - July 16-18 -- Benchley Soc. Annual Gathering

Save the date and watch for details. The Robert Benchley Society Annual Gathering and Humor Award Competition Dinner have been set for July 16-18, 2010, in Boston, Mass.

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.