2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor
2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor Winner Announced!
The 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor was awarded Monday, October 3, to David Rakoff for his third collection of essays, Half Empty. The award was presented at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City where James Thurber once lived. Rakoff received $5,000 and will appear within the next year at a Thurber House event, most likely the Thurber Birthday Gala.
Rakoff is also the author of the books Fraud and Don’t Get Too Comfortable. A two-time recipient of the Lambda Literary Award, he is a regular contributor to Public Radio International’s This American Life. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, Wired, Salon, GQ, Outside, Gourmet, Vogue, Slate, Harper’s Bazaar, and the New York Observer, among other publications, and has been included in Da Capo’s Best Music Writing, The Best American Travel Writing as well as The Best American Non-Required Reading.
The three finalists for the 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor (from left to right):
Henry Alford, reading for Rick Reilly (Sports from Hell); David Rakoff; Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk with Me); and host for the evening, Alan Zweibel. David Rakoff won for his book, Half Empty.
