Former Simpsons Writer Larry Doyle Wins 2008 Thurber Prize

Posted on October 7, 2008

Larry Doyle, the former writer and producer for The Simpsons, won the 2008 Thurber Prize for American Humor for his book I Love You Beth Cooper. The Thurber Prize is presented annually by Thurber House. Thurber House is the boyhood home of author, humorist and New Yorker cartoonist, James Thurber in Columbus, Ohio.

Doyle is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and has a monthly column in Esquire magazine. I Love You, Beth Cooper is his first novel, and will soon be adapted for a big-screen film starring Hayden Panettiere and Paul Rust. The novel is loosely based on Doyle's teen years in suburban Chicago.
In a review on his Web site, satirist Tom Perrotta says I Love You "feels like an instant classic, right up there with end-of-school landmarks like American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused."

You can find Larry Doyle's website here. Runner-ups for the Thurber Prize were former Saturday Night Live writer, Patricia Marx for her book Him Her Him Again The End of Him, and former president of The Harvard Lampoon, Simon Rich for his book of essays titled Ant Farm.

Last year's Thurber Prize was won by former Frasier Executive Producer Joe Keenan for his novel, My Lucky Star.