MAKE 'EM LAUGH: THE ART OF COMEDY WRITING

Saturday, October 23, 2010, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

1200 Atwater Avenue, Suite 3

Workshop leader: David McGimpsey

David McGimpsey was born and raised in Montreal. He is the author of four collections of poetry: Lardcake, Dogboy, Hamburger Valley California, and Sitcom. His most recent collection, Sitcom, was a finalist for both the A.M. Klein Award and the Re/Lit Awards and was named by the Quill & Quire as one of "The Books of the Year." He is also the author of one collection of short fiction: Certifiable. David has a PhD in English Literature (specializing in American fiction) and is the author of the critically-acclaimed and award-winning study Imagining Baseball: America's Pastime and Popular Culture. His critical essays have appeared in several journals, including The Michigan Quarterly Review and Essays in Canadian Writing. David is also a songwriter and performer: a member of the rock band Puggy Hammer, a stand-up comedian and radio host (CKGM 990's Hump Night with Arpon Basu and Dave McGimpsey). David writes a regular humor column called "The Self-Esteem Workout" for Matrix Magazine and his travel writings frequently appear in The Globe and Mail and in EnRoute magazine.  David writes the "Sandwich of the Month" column as a contributing editor for EnRoute and has been nominated for a National Magazine Award as well as a North American Travel Journalists Association Award. David is the Montreal fiction editor of the e-magazine Joyland and is the fiction editor for the Punchy Writers Series of DC Books. David McGimpsey currently lives in the Mile-End district of Montreal and he teaches creative writing and literature at Concordia University. David was also recently named by the CBC as one of the "Top Ten English language poets in Canada."