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. In 2015, the finalists were for the first time, all women. Winners of the Thurber Prize have included authors from an array of diverse backgrounds, from The Daily Show hosts Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah to The New Yorker staff writers Calvin Trillin and Ian Frazier, as well as university professors Julie Schumacher and Harrison Scott Key.
Honorees +Award winners and finalistsYearAuthorTitleResultRef.1997Coyote v. AcmeWinnerRush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other ObservationsFinalistNakedFinalist1999Our Dumb CenturyWinner2001Me Talk Pretty One DayWinnerBig KissSpecial HonorFinalistIn a Sunburned CountryFinalistMen My Mother DatedFinalistIt Takes a Village IdiotFinalist2004No Way to Treat a First LadyWinnerMe and Orson WellesFinalistFinalist2005, Ben Karlin, David Javerbaum and The Daily Show writing staffAmerica (The Book)WinnerThe Borowitz Report: The Big Book of ShockersFinalistFunny in FarsiFinalist2006WinnerTexas Hold 'Em: How I Was Born in a Manger, Died in the Saddle, and Came Back as a Horny ToadFinalistTime Won't Let MeFinalist2007My Lucky StarWinnerWalking In Circles Before Lying DownFinalistI Shouldn't Even Be Doing This! And Other Things That Strike Me As FunnyFinalist2008I Love You, Beth CooperWinnerHim Her Him Again the End of HimFinalistAnt Farm: And Other Desperate SituationsFinalist2009Lamentations of the FatherWinnerI Was Told There'd Be CakeFinalistWrack and RuinFinalistFinalist2010How I Became a Famous NovelistWinnerWhy Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?FinalistMennonite in a Little Black DressFinalist2011Half EmptyWinnerSleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True StoriesFinalistSports from HellFinalist2012Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny StuffWinnerPawnee: The Greatest Town in AmericaFinalistStarting from HappyFinalist2013Dan Gets a MinivanWinnerHope: A TragedyFinalist and Alan ZweibelLunaticsFinalist2014Truth in AdvertisingWinnerWomen on MenFinalist and David LettermanThis Land Was Made for You and Me (But Mostly Me)Finalist2015Dear Committee MembersWinnerCan't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?FinalistI See You Made an Effort: Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50Finalist2016WinnerLittle VictoriesFinalistBetween You & Me: Confessions of a Comma QueenFinalist2017Born a CrimeWinnerAmp'dFinalistMr. EternityFinalist2018PriestdaddyWinnerWould Everybody Please Stop?FinalistVacationland: True Stories from Painful BeachesFinalist2019Hits and MissesWinnerLook Alive Out ThereFinalistLove Poems for Married PeopleFinalist2020What Doesn't Kill You Makes You BlackerWinnerLessons from LucyFinalistHollow KingdomFinalist2021Deacon King KongWinnerFinalistNothing Is Wrong and Here Is WhyFinalist2022WinnerYou're Leaving When? Adventures in Downward MobilityFinalistFinalist2023WinnerDisorientationFinalistMs. DemeanorFinalist2024Alexandra Petri's US HistoryWinnerGriefstrike!FinalistThe Society of ShameFinalist2025Shalom AuslanderFehFinalistAlison EspachThe Wedding PeopleFinalistSteven RowleyThe Guncle AbroadFinalist
References
External links Thurber Prize for American Humor at Thurber House