Annabelle

Gurwitch

You're Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility

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You're Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility

Semi-Finalist, The 22nd Thurber Prize in Writing

From the New York Times bestselling author of I See You Made an Effort comes a timely and hilarious chronicle of downward mobility, financial and emotional.

With signature "sharp wit" (NPR), Annabelle Gurwitch gives irreverent and empathetic voice to a generation hurtling into their next chapter with no safety net and proves that our no-frills new normal doesn't mean a deficit of humor.

In these essays, Gurwitch embraces homesharing, welcoming a housing-insecure young couple and a bunny rabbit into her home. The mother of a college student in recovery who sheds the gender binary, she relearns to parent, one pronoun at a time. She wades into the dating pool in a Miss Havisham-inspired line of lingerie and flunks the magic of tidying up.

You're Leaving When? is for anybody who thought they had a semblance of security but wound up with a fragile economy and a blankie. Gurwitch offers stories of resilience, adaptability, low-rent redemption, and the kindness of strangers. Even in a muted Zoom.

Annabelle Gurwitch

Semi-Finalist, The 22nd Thurber Prize in Writing

From the New York Times bestselling author of I See You Made an Effort comes a timely and hilarious chronicle of downward mobility, financial and emotional.

With signature "sharp wit" (NPR), Annabelle Gurwitch gives irreverent and empathetic voice to a generation hurtling into their next chapter with no safety net and proves that our no-frills new normal doesn't mean a deficit of humor.

In these essays, Gurwitch embraces homesharing, welcoming a housing-insecure young couple and a bunny rabbit into her home. The mother of a college student in recovery who sheds the gender binary, she relearns to parent, one pronoun at a time. She wades into the dating pool in a Miss Havisham-inspired line of lingerie and flunks the magic of tidying up.

You're Leaving When? is for anybody who thought they had a semblance of security but wound up with a fragile economy and a blankie. Gurwitch offers stories of resilience, adaptability, low-rent redemption, and the kindness of strangers. Even in a muted Zoom.

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About the author

ANNABELLE GURWITCH is a New York Times Bestselling author, actress and activist whose most recent collection of essays You're Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility is a 2021 New York Times Favorite Book for Healthy Living, a Good Morning America Must Read and a finalist for The Thurber Prize for American Humor Writing 2022.

Gurwitch has written for The New Yorker, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Hadassah. Her five books include The New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize finalist I See You Made an Effort. She won a loyal comedic following during her seven seasons as cohost of Dinner & a Movie on TBS and as a commentator on NPR. Acting credits include: Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Dexter, playing a rabbi on Better Things, and most recently Michael Bay’s Ambulance. She performs on The Moth Mainstage, Carolines on B’way, at arts centers around the country and has been featured in Time Magazine’s annual “10 Ideas That are Changing the World,” GMA, Real Time with Bill Maher, CBS Early Morning, Oprah, and PBS Newshour.

Gurwitch has been chronicling living with stage iv lung cancer and inequities in healthcare since her out-of-the-blue diagnosis during covid in the New York Times, Washington Post, and in keynotes at scientific conferences in Vienna, Rome, and Brisbane. She co-hosts Tiny Victories, a (tiny) podcast dedicated to cultivating an appreciation of minor triumphs and small mercies.

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How many finalists are there?

We have three finalists each year out of the hundreds of submissions that we receive from authors all across the country. From indie self-pubs to best-selling authors and everything in between, these writers try their chance at taking home the coveted Thurber Prize each year. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just getting started in the field, this award show is made by and for the industry to celebrate the very best in humor writing.

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