2008

Annual Gathering

• Sixth Annual Gathering
• October 3-5, 2008
• New York, New York

Robert Benchley Award for Humor

• Winners
  1. Madeleine Begun Kane of Bayside, N.Y. for Guide for the Opera Impaired
  2. Mike Tuck of Hopkins, Minn. for Welcome to America
  3. Jesse Levy of North Hollywood, Calif. for How to Watch a Sad Movie and Retain Your Manliness
  4. Denise G. Weeks of Richardson, Texas for How to Start Your Own Band
• Semi-Finalists
  • Con Chapman of Weston, Mass. for My Memoirs, to the Best of My Knowledge
  • Madeleine Begun Kane of Bayside, N.Y. for Guide for the Opera Impaired
  • Jesse Levy of North Hollywood, Calif. for How to Watch a Sad Movie and Retain Your Manliness
  • E. Mitchell of Palatine, Ill. for How to Avoid the Neighbors
  • Joseph Nebus of Jackson, N.J. for What Do They Make Of Jelly?
  • Brenda Pontiff of Los Angeles, Calif. for How to Wake Up
  • John Thom of Los Angeles, Calif. for My Uncle Henry
  • Mike Tuck of Hopkins, Minn. for Welcome to America
  • Denise G. Weeks of Richardson, Texas for How to Start Your Own Band
  • Sharon Elizabeth Wood of Cary, N.C. for How to Be Happy
• Entries
  • All Entries sans names
• Judges
  • Final judge Bob Newhart
  • Preliminary judges RBS member Dwain Buck; 2005 Benchley Society award winner Horace J. Digby; author of Robert Benchley An Annotated Bibliography, Gordon E. Ernst; writer and RBS Director, Eileen Forster Keck; puzzle designer RBS Vice Chairman, Chris Morgan; radio personality and chairman of A Moderate State of Preservation Chapter (Ann Arbor, Mich.) of RBS, Tom Saunders; and Robert Benchley Society Chairman David Trumbull
• Dates
  • Deadline for entries: April 1st
  • Announcement of ten semi-finalist: July 1st
  • Announcemnt of winners: July 31st

2007

Annual Gathering

• Fifth Annual Gathering
• October 5-6, 2007
• New York, New York
• Held jointly with Dorothy Parker Society Parkerfest

Robert Benchley Award for Humor

• Winners
  1. Daniel Montville of Oak Park, Ill. for How to Write a Book
  2. George Waters of Pasadena, Calif. for T'ai Chi for Beginners," or "War and Peace"
  3. Ed Tasca of Toronto, Ontario for Hello again, Mr. Uh--!?
  4. Jennifer Byrne of Glassboro, N.J. for You Shouldn’t Have (Really)
• Semi-Finalists
  • Jennifer Byrne of Glassboro, N.J. for You Shouldn’t Have (Really)
  • David Carlyon of Larchmont N.Y. 10538 The Next Robert Benchley
  • Mary Lyn Eagle, aka Marie Hawk, of Oroville, Wash. for Step by Step Instructions for Surviving a Computer Melt Down
  • Diana Grove of New Orleans, Louisiana for A Perfectly Acceptable Pet
  • Anthony Martinetti of Pawtucket, R.I. for While Reading THE RAVEN on Wikipedia
  • Daniel Montville of Oak Park, Ill. for How to Write a Book
  • John Parnell of Macon, Georgia for I stared at my executive editor's e-mail to me with a mix of revulsion and horror...
  • Brenda Pontiff of Los Angeles, Calif. for A Warning Concerning Self-Help Propaganda
  • Ed Tasca of Toronto, Ontario for Hello again, Mr. Uh--!?
  • George Waters of Pasadena, Calif. for T'ai Chi for Beginners," or "War and Peace"
• Entries
  • All Entries sans names
• Judges
  • Final judge Dave Barry
  • Preliminary judges 2005 Benchley Society award winner Horace J. Digby; author of Robert Benchley An Annotated Bibliography, Gordon E. Ernst; President of the Dorothy Parker Society and RBS Director, Kevin Fitzpatrick; writer and RBS Director, Eileen Forster Keck; RBS Secretary, Sharon Lyon; puzzle designer and RBS Vice Chairman, Chris Morgan; Robert Benchley Society Chairman David Trumbull
• Dates
  • Deadline for entries: April 1st
  • Announcement of ten semi-finalist: May 14th
  • Announcemnt of winners: July 21th

2006

Annual Gathering