David Sedaris

{{Infobox writer

| name = David Sedaris

| image = David Sedaris-4724.jpg

| alt = A bust photograph of a white man in spectacles; he is wearing a white patterned shirt, blue jacket, and a jaw-mounted microphone. He is facing the camera, looking to its left.

| caption = Sedaris at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2018

| birth_name = David Raymond Sedaris

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|12|26}}

| birth_place = Johnson City, New York, U.S.

| nationality = American

|awards= Thurber Prize for American Humor
American Academy of Arts and Letters

| education = School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BA)

| genre = Humor, essays

| partner = Hugh Hamrick

| relatives = Amy Sedaris (sister)

| signature = David Sedaris signature.svg

}}

David Raymond Sedaris ({{IPAc-en|s|ɪ|ˈ|d|ɛər|ɪ|s}} {{respell|sih|DAIR|iss}}; born December 26, 1956){{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/29/books/review/theft-by-finding-diaries-david-sedaris.html |title=David Sedaris's Diaries Track a Path From Struggle to Success |last=Oswalt |first=Patton |date=May 29, 2017 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US |access-date=July 9, 2017 |archive-date=June 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626225056/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/29/books/review/theft-by-finding-diaries-david-sedaris.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://writersalmanac.org/note/dec-26-2015-birthday-david-sedaris/ |title=Dec. 26, 2015: birthday: David Sedaris |website=The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor |language=en-US |access-date=July 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024043332/https://writersalmanac.org/note/dec-26-2015-birthday-david-sedaris/ |archive-date=October 24, 2017 |url-status=dead }} is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "Santaland Diaries". He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994. His next book, Naked (1997), became his first of a series of New York Times Bestsellers, and his 2000 collection Me Talk Pretty One Day won the Thurber Prize for American Humor.

Much of Sedaris's humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating and often concerns his family life, his middle-class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, his Greek heritage, homosexuality, jobs, education, drug use, and obsessive behaviors, as well as his life in France, London, New York, and the South Downs in England. He is the brother and writing collaborator of actress Amy Sedaris.

In 2019, Sedaris was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Early life and education

Sedaris was born in Johnson City, New York,Finding Your Roots, PBS, Episode 9. to Sharon Elizabeth (née Leonard) (d. 1991) and Louis Harry "Lou" Sedaris (1923–2021), an IBM engineer.{{cite book|title=Naked |last=Sedaris |first=David |publisher=Abacus |year=2006 |edition=1 |location=London |chapter=Dix Hill |page=90}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070319&s=heard031907|title=TNR|accessdate=July 28, 2022}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070319&s=heard031907&c=2|title=TNR|accessdate=July 28, 2022}} His mother was Anglo-American.Stated on Finding Your Roots, PBS, November 18, 2014 His father was born in the U.S. to immigrants from Apidea in Laconia, Greece.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/raleigh-nc/louis-sedaris-10203936|title=Louis Sedaris Obituary - Raleigh, NC|website=dignitymemorial.com|accessdate=July 28, 2022|archive-date=May 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502043327/https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/raleigh-nc/louis-sedaris-10203936|url-status=live}} His mother was Protestant, and his father was Greek Orthodox,{{cite book |title=Me Talk Pretty One Day |isbn=978-0-31-677696-7 |last=Sedaris |first=David |date=June 5, 2001 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=New York, NY}} the faith in which David was raised.{{cite web|url=http://www.amysedarisrocks.com/transletapr05.htm|title=Amy Sedaris Interview|website=amysedarisrocks.com|access-date=April 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195728/http://www.amysedarisrocks.com/transletapr05.htm|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}

The Sedaris family moved when David was young, and he grew up in a suburban area of Raleigh, the second oldest child of six. His siblings, from oldest to youngest, are Lisa, Gretchen, Amy,Lafreniere, Steve [http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/amy_david_sedaris.shtml "Amy and David Sedaris"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014195935/http://indexmagazine.com/interviews/amy_david_sedaris.shtml |date=October 14, 2007 }}, Index Magazine, 2001. Retrieved October 9, 2007. Tiffany,{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Jina |title=Sister in a glass house |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/08/15/sister_in_a_glass_house?pg=full |work=The Boston Globe |access-date=June 2, 2019 |date=August 15, 2004 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111225449/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/08/15/sister_in_a_glass_house?pg=full |url-status=live }} and Paul ("the Rooster").{{cite news |last1=Weisbecker |first1=Lee |title=Built from the floor up |journal=Triangle Business Journal |date=May 23, 2005 |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2005/05/23/smallb1.html |access-date=June 2, 2019 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109011904/https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2005/05/23/smallb1.html |url-status=live }} Tiffany died by suicide in 2013, a subject David discusses in the essay "Now We Are Five", which was published in The New Yorker and included in his 2018 essay collection Calypso.{{Cite magazine |date=October 21, 2013 |first=David |last=Sedaris |title=Now We Are Five |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/10/28/now-we-are-five |access-date=November 5, 2022 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}}

After graduating from Jesse O. Sanderson High School in Raleigh, Sedaris briefly attended Western Carolina University{{YouTube|lZ8j6C2JXH4}}{{dead link|date=March 2014}} before transferring to, and dropping out of, Kent State University in 1977. In his teens and twenties, David dabbled in visual and performance art. He describes his lack of success in several of his essays.

Sedaris moved to Chicago in 1983, and graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1987.

Career

File:David Sedaris (June 2008).jpg

While working odd jobs in Raleigh, Chicago, and New York City, Sedaris was discovered in a Chicago club by radio host Ira Glass. Sedaris was reading a diary he had kept since 1977. Impressed with his work, Glass asked him to appear on his weekly local program, The Wild Room.Marchese, John. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/04/style/he-does-radio-and-windows.html "He Does Radio And Windows"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208164511/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/04/style/he-does-radio-and-windows.html |date=December 8, 2020 }}, The New York Times, July 4, 1993. Retrieved October 7, 2007. Referring to the opportunity, Sedaris said, "I owe everything to Ira... My life just changed completely, like someone waved a magic wand."St. John, Warren. [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/06/style/turning-sour-grapes-into-a-silk-purse.html "Turning Sour Grapes Into a Silk Purse"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627205115/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/06/style/turning-sour-grapes-into-a-silk-purse.html |date=June 27, 2018 }}, The New York Times, June 6, 2004. Retrieved October 7, 2007. Sedaris's success on The Wild Room led to his National Public Radio debut on December 23, 1992, when he read a radio essay on Morning Edition titled "Santaland Diaries," which described his purported experiences as an elf at Macy's department store during Christmas in New York.

"Santaland Diaries" was a success with listeners[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5066175 "Sedaris and Crumpet the Elf: A Holiday Tradition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310015922/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5066175 |date=March 10, 2011 }}, NPR.org. Retrieved October 8, 2007. and made Sedaris what The New York Times called "a minor phenomenon." He began recording a monthly segment for NPR, which was based on his diary entries and was edited and produced by Glass, and he also signed a two-book deal with Little, Brown and Company. In 1993, Sedaris told The New York Times he was publishing his first book, a collection of stories and essays, and he had 70 pages written of his second book, a novel "about a man who keeps a diary and whom Mr. Sedaris described as 'not me, but a lot like me'."

= Collections and mainstream success =

In 1994, Sedaris published Barrel Fever, a collection of stories and essays. He became a frequent contributor when Ira Glass began a weekly hour-long PRI/Chicago Public Radio show, This American Life, in 1995. Sedaris began writing essays for Esquire and The New Yorker. In 1997, he published another collection of essays, Naked, which won the Randy Shilts Award for Gay Non-Fiction from Publishing Triangle in 1998.{{cite web |website=The Publishing Triangle |title=Publishing Triangle Awards |url=http://www.publishingtriangle.org/awards.asp#Randy |access-date=May 15, 2014 |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323191422/http://www.publishingtriangle.org/awards.asp#Randy |url-status=live }}

Naked and his subsequent four essay collections, Holidays on Ice (1997), Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000), Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (2004), and When You Are Engulfed in Flames (2008), became New York Times Best Sellers.*[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/06/books/best-sellers-april-6-1997.html "Best Sellers: April 6, 1997"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707232942/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/06/books/best-sellers-april-6-1997.html |date=July 7, 2018 }}, The New York Times, April 6, 1997. Retrieved October 7, 2007.

[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/22/books/paperback-best-sellers-december-22-2002.html "Paperback Best Sellers: December 22, 2002"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707232932/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/22/books/paperback-best-sellers-december-22-2002.html |date=July 7, 2018 }}, The New York Times, December 22, 2002. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/11/books/best-sellers-june-11-2000.html "Best Sellers: June 11, 2000"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803133701/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/11/books/best-sellers-june-11-2000.html |date=August 3, 2017 }}, The New York Times, June 11, 2000. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/books/best-sellers-june-20-2004.html "Best Sellers: June 20, 2004"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707232658/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/books/best-sellers-june-20-2004.html |date=July 7, 2018 }}, The New York Times, June 20, 2004. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/books/bestseller/0706besthardnonfiction.html?ex=1372305600&en=b4f86ec246da2217&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink "Best Sellers: July 6, 2008"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018064059/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/books/bestseller/0706besthardnonfiction.html?ex=1372305600&en=b4f86ec246da2217&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink |date=October 18, 2015 }}, The New York Times, July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008.

Me Talk Pretty One Day was written mostly in France, over seven months, and it was published in 2000 to "practically unanimous rave reviews."Richards, Linda. [http://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/sedaris.html "David Sedaris"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206224215/http://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/sedaris.html |date=February 6, 2007 }}, January Magazine, June 2000. Retrieved October 9, 2007. For that book, Sedaris won the 2001 Thurber Prize for American Humor.{{cite web |title=Past Thurber Prize Winners |url=http://thurberhouse.org/past-thurber-prize-winners.html |publisher=Thurber House |access-date=May 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153318/http://thurberhouse.org/past-thurber-prize-winners.html |archive-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=dead }}

In April 2001, Variety reported Sedaris had sold the Me Talk Pretty One Day film rights to director Wayne Wang, who was adapting four stories from the book for Columbia Pictures.Fleming, Michael (April 5, 2001). [https://variety.com/2001/film/columns/wave-duo-pilot-cable-wang-s-pretty-deal-1117796537/ {{"'}}Wave' duo pilot cable; Wang's 'Pretty' deal"], Variety. [https://variety.com/2001/film/columns/wave-duo-pilot-cable-wang-s-pretty-deal-1117796537/]. Retrieved October 7, 2007. Wang had completed the script and begun casting when Sedaris asked to "get out of it," after he and his sister worried how their family might be portrayed. He wrote about the conversation and its aftermath in the essay "Repeat After Me." Sedaris recounted that Wang was "a real prince... I didn't want him to be mad at me, but he was so grown up about it. I never saw how it could be turned into a movie anyway."Tyrangiel, Josh. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070108162621/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994471,00.html "10 Questions For David Sedaris"], Time, June 21, 2004. Retrieved October 7, 2007.

In 2004, Sedaris published Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, which reached number 1 on The New York Times Nonfiction Best Seller List in June of that year.[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/books/best-sellers-june-20-2004.html "Best Sellers: June 20, 2004"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707232658/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/books/best-sellers-june-20-2004.html |date=July 7, 2018 }}, The New York Times, June 20, 2004. Retrieved October 7, 2007. The audiobook of Dress Your Family, read by Sedaris, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. The same year, Sedaris was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for his recording Live at Carnegie Hall. In March 2006, Ira Glass said that Sedaris's next book would be a collection of animal fables;Glass, Ira. Chicago Public Radio pledge drive, March 24, 2006. during that year, Sedaris included several animal fables in his US book tour, and three of his fables were broadcast on This American Life.{{Cite episode |title=An Animal Farm Christmas |url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/305/the-this-american-life-holiday-spectacular?act=4#act-4 |access-date=January 31, 2016 |series=This American Life |first=David |last=Sedaris |station=WBEZ |date=December 23, 2005 |number=305 |archive-date=March 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314172010/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/305/the-this-american-life-holiday-spectacular?act=4#act-4 |url-status=live }}{{Cite episode |title=So A Squirrel And A Chipmunk Walk Into A Bar |url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/308/star-crossed-love?act=3#act-3 |access-date=January 31, 2016 |series=This American Life |first=David |last=Sedaris |station=WBEZ |date=February 10, 2006 |number=308 |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307084743/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/308/star-crossed-love?act=3#act-3 |url-status=live }}{{Cite episode |title=Hello Kitty |url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/309/cat-and-mouse?act=2#act-2 |access-date=January 31, 2016 |series=This American Life |first=David |last=Sedaris |station=WBEZ |date=February 24, 2006 |number=309 |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308182458/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/309/cat-and-mouse?act=2#act-2 |url-status=live }}

In September 2007, a new Sedaris collection was announced for publication the following year.Isaac, Mike. [https://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/5079/news/music/david_sedaris_announces_new_book_release "David Sedaris announces new book release"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020181549/http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/5079/news/music/david_sedaris_announces_new_book_release |date=October 20, 2007 }}, Paste, September 20, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2007. The collection's working title was All the Beauty You Will Ever Need, but Sedaris retitled it Indefinite Leave to Remain and finally settled on the title When You Are Engulfed in Flames.Neyfakh, Leon (February 21, 2008), [http://www.observer.com/2008/why-does-david-sedaris-keep-changing-title-his-new-book-man-himself-explains "Why Does David Sedaris Keep Changing the Title of His Book? The Man Himself Explains"], The New York Observer. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010010245/http://www.observer.com/2008/why-does-david-sedaris-keep-changing-title-his-new-book-man-himself-explains |date=October 10, 2008 }}. Retrieved October 17, 2008. Although at least one news source assumed the book would be fables,{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} Sedaris said in October 2007 that the collection might include a "surprisingly brief story about [his] decision to quit smoking," along with other stories about various topics, including chimpanzees at a typing school, and people visiting [him] in France.Hambrick, Greg. [http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A34152 "David Sedaris is Taking Notes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006010804/http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A34152 |date=October 6, 2007 }}, Charleston City Paper, October 3, 2007. Retrieved October 7, 2007. The book was described as his darkest, as it dealt with themes of death and dying.{{Cite web |last=Mohl |first=Lucy |date=June 20, 2008 |title=In "When You Are Engulfed in Flames," some stories burn brighter than others |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/in-when-you-are-engulfed-in-flames-some-stories-burn-brighter-than-others/ |access-date=October 28, 2022 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Grigoriadis |first=Vanessa |date=June 15, 2008 |title=Up in Smoke |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/books/review/Grigoriadis-t.html |access-date=October 28, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

In December 2008, Sedaris received an honorary doctorate from Binghamton University.{{cite press release |url=http://www2.binghamton.edu/news/news-releases/news-release.html?id=776 |title=Binghamton University to hold second Fall commencement |publisher=Binghamton University |date=December 8, 2008 |access-date=December 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019122920/http://www2.binghamton.edu/news/news-releases/news-release.html?id=776 |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

In April 2010, BBC Radio 4 aired Meet David Sedaris, a four-part series of essays, which Sedaris read before a live audience.{{cite web |title=Meet David Sedaris |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rp3fg |work=Radio 4 |publisher=BBC |access-date=April 7, 2010 |archive-date=April 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410035509/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rp3fg |url-status=live }} A second series of six programs began airing on BBC Radio 4 Extra in June 2011, with a third series beginning in September 2012.{{cite web |title=Meet David Sedaris |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011tzjc |work=Radio 4 Extra |publisher=BBC |access-date=June 23, 2011 |archive-date=June 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110619112544/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011tzjc |url-status=live }} In July 2017, the sixth series was aired and by 2025 the series had reached its 10th season on Radio 4.

In 2010, he released a collection of stories, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary.[http://www.usforacle.com/montage/releases-worth-a-bookmark-1.2321855 Releases worth a bookmark] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100909085836/http://www.usforacle.com/montage/releases-worth-a-bookmark-1.2321855 |date=September 9, 2010 }}. September 8, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2010. Sedaris released a collection of essays, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, in 2013 and, in 2017, published a collection of his 1977–2002 diaries, Theft By Finding. Also in 2013, the film adaptation of an essay from Naked was released as a feature-length movie, C.O.G.

In July 2011, Sedaris's essay "Chicken Toenails, Anyone", published in The Guardian,[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/15/david-sedaris-chinese-food-chicken-toenails "David Sedaris: Chicken toenails, anyone?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108061649/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/15/david-sedaris-chinese-food-chicken-toenails |date=January 8, 2017 }}, The Guardian, July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2011. garnered some criticism over concerns that it was insensitive towards China and Chinese culture.Yang, Jeff (July 29, 2011). [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fg%2Fa%2F2011%2F07%2F29%2Fapop072911.DTL "David Sedaris Talks Ugly About China"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731005825/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fg%2Fa%2F2011%2F07%2F29%2Fapop072911.DTL |date=July 31, 2011 }}, San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 30, 2011.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/22/weekend-magazine-readers-letters |title=Your letters: Tell us what you think |work=The Guardian |date=July 23, 2011 |access-date=January 21, 2012 |last=O'Connell|first= Joe |location=London |archive-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930220635/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/22/weekend-magazine-readers-letters |url-status=live }}

A frequent guest of late-night US talk show host Craig Ferguson, in April 2012, Sedaris joined Ferguson and the cast of CBS's The Late, Late Show in Scotland for a theme week filmed in and around Cumbernauld and in Edinburgh. The five weeknight episodes aired in May 2012.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}}

Sedaris's ninth book, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, was released in April 2013.

In 2014, he participated in Do I Sound Gay?, a documentary film by David Thorpe about stereotypes of gay men's speech patterns.[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/do-i-sound-gay-toronto-731253 "'Do I Sound Gay?': Toronto Review"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801182934/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/do-i-sound-gay-toronto-731253 |date=August 1, 2020 }}. The Hollywood Reporter, September 8, 2014.

He appeared along with his sister Amy as special guest judges on season 8, episode 8, of RuPaul's Drag Race.{{cite web | url=https://www.avclub.com/drag-race-s-book-ball-showcases-the-strength-of-season-1798187531 | title=Drag Race's Book Ball showcases the strength of season 8 | work=AV Club | date=April 25, 2016 | access-date=April 26, 2016 | archive-date=August 19, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819155127/http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/drag-races-book-ball-showcases-strength-season-8-235826 | url-status=live }} He also appeared as a guest in the Adult Swim television series FishCenter Live.{{cite web|last=Argyle|first=Samuel|title=A fantasy getaway in a fish tank|url=https://theoutline.com/post/7254/fishcenter-live-appreciation|work=The Outline|date=March 29, 2019|access-date=March 30, 2019|archive-date=March 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330053544/https://theoutline.com/post/7254/fishcenter-live-appreciation|url-status=live}}

Sedaris guest starred on the Netflix animated comedy-drama series BoJack Horseman as the mother of Princess Carolyn, voiced by Amy Sedaris.{{Cite web |title=Princess Carolyn learns you can't go home again as BoJack Horseman heads to the Tar Heel State |url=https://www.avclub.com/princess-carolyn-learns-you-cant-go-home-again-as-bojac-1829050375 |access-date=February 26, 2022 |website=The A.V. Club |date=September 14, 2018 |language=en-us |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226220649/https://www.avclub.com/princess-carolyn-learns-you-cant-go-home-again-as-bojac-1829050375 |url-status=live }}

In 2019, Sedaris was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.{{cite web |last1=Fedor |first1=Ashley |title=2019 Newly Elected Members |url=https://artsandletters.org/pressrelease/2019-newly-elected-members/ |website=American Academy of Arts and Letters |access-date=January 8, 2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807090320/https://artsandletters.org/pressrelease/2019-newly-elected-members/ |url-status=live }} A greatest-hits compilation of his essays and short fiction entitled The Best of Me was released in November 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/11/03/david-sedaris-the-best-of-me|title=Humorist David Sedaris Culls Decades Of Essays Into 'The Best Of Me'|access-date=August 6, 2024|author=Mosley, Tonya|date=November 3, 2020|publisher=WBUR}}

In 2022, he published Happy Go Lucky, where he reflected on his relationship with his recently deceased father.{{Cite news |last=McAlpin |first=Heller |date=May 31, 2022 |title=In 'Happy-Go-Lucky,' David Sedaris reflects on his fraught relationship with his dad |language=en |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/05/31/1102104079/in-happy-go-lucky-david-sedaris-reflects-on-his-fraught-relationship-with-his-da |access-date=October 28, 2022}}

= Truth of nonfiction work =

In 2007, in an article in The New Republic, Alexander S. Heard stated that much of Sedaris's work is insufficiently factual to justify being marketed as nonfiction.Heard, Alex. [http://www.tnr.com/article/american-lie-midget-guitar-teacher-macys-elf-and-thetruth-about-david-sedaris "This American Lie: A midget guitar teacher, a Macy's elf, and the truth about David Sedaris"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318052153/http://www.tnr.com/article/american-lie-midget-guitar-teacher-macys-elf-and-thetruth-about-david-sedaris |date=March 18, 2012 }}, The New Republic, March 19, 2007. Retrieved June 15, 20085. Several published responses to Heard's article argued that Sedaris's readers are aware that his descriptions and stories are intentionally exaggerated and manipulated to maximize comic effect,Balk, Alex. [http://gawker.com/news/david-sedaris/david-sedaris-may-sometimes-exaggerate-for-effect-244255.php "David Sedaris May Sometimes Exaggerate For Effect!"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811194459/http://gawker.com/news/david-sedaris/david-sedaris-may-sometimes-exaggerate-for-effect-244255.php |date=August 11, 2011 }}, Gawker, March 14, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007. while others used the controversy as a springboard for discussing the liberties publishers are willing to take when calling books "nonfiction".Villalon, Oscar. [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/03/DDGIFOV5PG1.DTL "Public's taste for nonfiction has publishers playing fast and loose with labels"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070407034355/http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2007%2F04%2F03%2FDDGIFOV5PG1.DTL |date=April 7, 2007 }}, San Francisco Chronicle, April 3, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.

Subsequently, in the wake of a controversy involving Mike Daisey's dramatizing and embellishing his personal experiences at Chinese factories, during an excerpt from his theatrical monologue for This American Life, new attention has been paid to the veracity of Sedaris's nonfiction stories. NPR labels stories from Sedaris, such as "Santaland Diaries", as fiction, while This American Life fact checks stories, to the extent that memories and long-ago conversations can be checked.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/david-sedariss-exaggerations-in-memoirs-npr-nonfiction-program-raise-questions/2012/05/13/gIQAm9QONU_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Paul|last=Farhi|title=Style|date=May 14, 2012|access-date=August 26, 2017|archive-date=August 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829162659/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/david-sedariss-exaggerations-in-memoirs-npr-nonfiction-program-raise-questions/2012/05/13/gIQAm9QONU_story.html|url-status=live}} The New Yorker already subjects nonfiction stories written for that magazine to its comprehensive fact-checking policy.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/books/08lyal.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|first=Sarah|last=Lyall|title=What You Read Is What He Is, Sort Of|date=June 8, 2008|access-date=February 7, 2017|archive-date=October 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018064059/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/books/08lyal.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}

= The Talent Family =

Sedaris has written several plays with his sister, actress Amy Sedaris, under the name "The Talent Family". These include Stump the Host (1993), Stitches (1994), One Woman Shoe, which co-starred David Rakoff (1995){{cite news |last1=Brantley |first1=Ben |title=Turning the Headlines Sideways Into Laughs |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/16/reviews/sedaris-r-shoe.html |access-date=July 1, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=January 26, 1995 |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701065519/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/16/reviews/sedaris-r-shoe.html |url-status=live }} and The Little Frieda Mysteries (1997). All were produced and presented by Meryl Vladimer while she was the artistic director of "the CLUB" at La MaMa, E.T.C. The Book of Liz (2001) was written by Sedaris and his sister, Amy and produced by Drama Dept. at The Greenwich Theater in New York.{{cite web |last1=Gutman |first1=Les |title=A Curtain Up Review: The Book of Liz |url=http://www.curtainup.com/bookofliz.html |website=CurtainUp.com |publisher=Elyse Sommer, CurtainUp |date=March 28, 2001 |quote=A production of Drama Dept. ... Opening 3/26/01 Closing 5/20/01 --several extensions, to 6/01/01 |access-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-date=July 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714004125/https://curtainup.com/bookofliz.html |url-status=live }}

= ''The New Yorker'' =

Sedaris has contributed over 40 essays to The New Yorker magazine and blog.{{cite magazine |title=Contributors – David Sedaris |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/bios/david_sedaris/search?contributorName=david%20sedaris |access-date=March 9, 2011 |archive-date=March 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313115126/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/bios/david_sedaris/search?contributorName=david%20sedaris |url-status=live }}

Personal life

Sedaris lives with his longtime partner, painter and set designer Hugh Hamrick. The two met in New York City in 1991 and in 1998, they moved to France together, later relocating to England.{{cite web |last1=Sedaris |first1=David |title=No One Knows Amy Sedaris Better Than Her Brother David |url=https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a30548686/amy-sedaris-david-sedaris-essay/ |website=Elle |date=January 27, 2020}} Sedaris frequently mentions Hamrick in his stories, and describes the two of them as the type of couple who will not be married.{{cite news |last1=Granberry |first1=Michael |title=David Sedaris, who long ago mastered a sense of surprise, ruminates on anger, trash and Texas |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/arts/books/2019/04/25/david-sedaris-long-ago-mastered-sense-surprise-ruminates-anger-trash-texas |access-date=June 2, 2019 |newspaper=The Dallas Morning News |date=April 25, 2019 |archive-date=August 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818022859/https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/books/2019/04/25/david-sedaris-who-long-ago-mastered-a-sense-of-surprise-ruminates-on-anger-trash-and-texas/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Schrobsdorff |first=Susanna |url=http://www.newsweek.com/david-sedaris-writing-reading-and-gay-marriage-90413 |title=David Sedaris on Writing, Reading and Gay Marriage |website=Newsweek |date=May 29, 2008 |access-date=September 12, 2015 |archive-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018064059/http://www.newsweek.com/david-sedaris-writing-reading-and-gay-marriage-90413 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Wakeford |first1=Dan |title=Humorist David Sedaris Was Invited to Buckingham Palace by the Queen for 'Picking Up Rubbish' |url=https://people.com/books/talking-trash-with-david-sedaris/ |website=People |access-date=June 2, 2019 |date=November 12, 2018 |archive-date=June 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602165050/https://people.com/books/talking-trash-with-david-sedaris/ |url-status=live }}

Sedaris currently divides his time between Rackham, West Sussex, England, and New York City.{{cite web |last1=Dunn |first1=Jancee |title=Me Walk Pretty One Day |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/30/well/david-sedaris-walking.html |website=The New York Times|date=June 30, 2023 }} In 2023 he qualified for British Citizenship, Sedaris told an audience in Sydney, Australia in February 2025, but he had not had time to get a passport. In 2013, he purchased a beach house on Emerald Isle, North Carolina; many of the stories in his 2018 collection Calypso are set there.{{cite web |last1=Merrill |first1=Rob |title=David Sedaris seeks catharsis in 'Calypso' |url=https://apnews.com/calypso-arts-and-entertainment-1011cafb7efc46e8a47cb42b94dd59a5 |work=Associated Press News |language=en |date=May 29, 2018}}

Sedaris is known for regularly spending hours removing litter from roads and highways near Rackham. Because of this hobby, he is known locally as "Pig Pen"; he also has a waste vehicle named after him.{{cite news |url= http://www.wscountytimes.co.uk/news/local/south-downs-litter-picker-has-truck-named-after-him-1-6204429 |title= South Downs litter picker has truck named after him |work= West Sussex County Times |location= Horsham |date= July 28, 2014 |access-date= July 28, 2014 |archive-date= July 28, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140728233347/http://www.wscountytimes.co.uk/news/local/south-downs-litter-picker-has-truck-named-after-him-1-6204429 |url-status= live }}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/shortcuts/2014/jul/31/david-sedaris-litter-picker-rubbish-waste-vehicle-pig-pen-west-sussex|title=David Sedaris? Who? Oh, you mean the local litter-picker|newspaper=The Guardian|author-link=Tim Dowling|first=Tim|last=Dowling|date=July 31, 2014|access-date=July 31, 2014|archive-date=December 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202120816/https://www.theguardian.com/books/shortcuts/2014/jul/31/david-sedaris-litter-picker-rubbish-waste-vehicle-pig-pen-west-sussex|url-status=live}}

Bibliography

=Story and essay collections=

Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays (1994)
Holidays on Ice (1997)
Naked (1997)
Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000)
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (2004)
When You Are Engulfed in Flames (2008)
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (2010)
Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls (2013)
Calypso (2018)
The Best of Me (2020)
Happy-Go-Lucky (2022)

=Diaries=

Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977–2002) (2017)
A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003–2020) (2021)

=Children's books=

Pretty Ugly (with Ian Falconer; 2024)

=Radio shows=

Meet David Sedaris (since 2010)

=As editor=

Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (2005)

= Plays =

Stump the Host (1993)
Stitches (1994)
One-Woman Shoe (with Amy Sedaris; 1995)
The Little Frieda Mysteries (1997)
Santaland Diaries and Seasons Greetings (1998)
The Book of Liz: A Play (with Amy Sedaris; 2002)

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20170627133942/http://www.davidsedarisbooks.com/bio.html Biography at David Sedaris Books]
[https://www.npr.org/programs/specials/lists/sedaris/ NPR archive] of selected Sedaris appearances
[https://www.npo.nl/boeken-op-reis-met-wim-brands/22-09-2013/VPWON_1196917 Interview with David Sedaris by Wim Brands], filmed summer 2013 at Sedaris's West Sussex home. 25-minute interview in English with Dutch subtitles, discussing his writing methods.
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723005117/http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780316777728_ChapterExcerpt%281%29.htm |date=July 23, 2011 |title=Go Carolina }}, the opening chapter from Me Talk Pretty One Day
Nikki Tundel, [http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/14/sedaris/ "A conversation with humorist David Sedaris"], an interview with David Sedaris on Minnesota Public Radio, June 14, 2008
[http://authorsontourlive.com/?p=147 "David Sedaris reads from and discusses When You're Engulfed in Flames"] – Live from the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver, Colorado
[https://www.motherjones.com/interview/2008/07/interview-truth-or-sedaris.html The MoJo Interview: David Sedaris] by Tony DuShane, Mother Jones, July/August 2008
David Sedaris Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.