Simon Rich

Simon Rich (born June 5, 1984) is an American humorist, novelist, and screenwriter. He has published two novels and six collections of humor pieces, several of which appeared in ''The New Yorker.'' His novels and short stories have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Rich was one of the youngest writers ever hired on ''Saturday Night Live,'' and served as a staff writer for Pixar. On January 14, 2015, '' Man Seeking Woman'', a television comedy series created by Rich (and based on his short story collection ''The Last Girlfriend on Earth''), premiered on the cable channel FXX.

Early life and education

Rich was born and raised in New York City. His family is Jewish but they were not religious when he was growing up. His father is columnist Frank Rich; his mother, Gail Winston, is also a writer. His older brother is novelist Nathaniel Rich. His step-mother, Alex Witchel, is a reporter for ''The New York Times''.

Rich attended the Town School and the Dalton School. After graduating, he enrolled at Harvard University, where he became president of the ''Harvard Lampoon''. He was classmates with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Career

After graduating from Harvard, Rich wrote for ''Saturday Night Live'' for four years (2007-2011). The staff was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Series in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and won the Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety Series in 2009 and 2010.

Rich departed to work as a staff writer for Pixar.

In 2013 and 2014, he was named to ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 list.

Magazine work

Rich has had pieces published in ''McSweeney's'', '' The Believer'', '' GQ'', ''The Observer'' magazine, ''Mad'' magazine, '' Vanity Fair'', ''UK Glamour'', ''Italian GQ'', ''Italian Granta'', NPR.com, NPR's "Selected Shorts," and ''The Barcelona Review'', among other publications.

His writing has also been selected for numerous anthologies including ''The Best of McSweeney's'', and ''I Found This Funny'', edited by Judd Apatow.

In 2013, Sony Pictures acquired the film rights to Rich's four-part novella ''Sell Out'', which was originally published by ''The New Yorker'' that same year.

Film work

Rich wrote the screenplay for the film '' An American Pickle'', which premiered in 2020. Seth Rogen starred in the dual lead roles and served as producer.

Upcoming projects

Rich is slated to write the script based on the illustrated book ''Unicorn Executions'', to be produced by Universal Studios.

Writings

Short stories

As an undergraduate at Harvard University in 2007, Rich received a two-book contract from Random House. His first book, a collection of short humor pieces entitled ''Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations'', was published in 2007 and was nominated for the Thurber Prize for American Humor. His second collection, ''Free Range Chickens'', was published in 2008.

Rich released his third collection of stories, ''The Last Girlfriend on Earth'', in 2013. Reception was favorable, with ''The Washington Post'' praising the book as "hilarious," declaring, "it just might be the best one-night stand you'll ever have."

''The Last Girlfriend on Earth'' was given a pilot order by FX within a week of its publishing as ''Man Seeking Woman''. The show was officially ordered by FXX with the leading cast of Jay Baruchel, Eric Andre, Britt Lower and Maya Erskine, with Rich as show-runner and executive producer, making him one of the youngest creators in TV history. The show was produced by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video and ran on FXX for three seasons.

Rich's fourth story collection, ''Spoiled Brats'', was published in 2014. ''The Guardian'' described it as "simply the funniest book of the year," adding, "there are sometimes three laugh-out-loud moments within the same paragraph." '' The Evening Standard'' also praised the book, calling Rich "a Thurber, even a Wodehouse, for today. Who could ask for more? You can give his books to people and just watch them laugh."

A fifth collection, ''Hits and Misses'', was published in July 2018. NPR said that "with this book, Rich has come into his own as one of the most talented writers of comedic fiction working today." In 2019, Rich won the Thurber Prize for American Humor for ''Hits and Misses''.

Rich's sixth story collection, ''New Teeth'', was published in July 2021.

His seventh short story collection, ''Glory Days'', was published in July 2024.

Novels

Rich's third book and first novel, ''Elliot Allagash'', was released in May 2010. In June that year, Jason Reitman optioned the movie rights to the novel.

In 2012, Rich published his second novel, ''What in God's Name'', which '' The New York Times Book Review'' compared to Douglas Adams's ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. In 2019, the novel was adapted for the first season of the TV series ''Miracle Workers''. The same year, Back Bay Books reissued the novel under the title ''Miracle Workers''. Subsequently, Rich's short story "Revolution" inspired the second season of the series.

Stage

Rich's first play, '' All In: Comedy About Love by Simon Rich'', which is based on some of his short stories, was set to premiere on Broadway on December 11, 2024. Scheduled for a 10-week run at the Hudson Theatre, the production featured a rotating cast of four performers at a time, which initially included John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Richard Kind for the first five weeks of performances, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chloe Fineman, Andrew Rannells, Aidy Bryant, Sam Richardson and others in subsequent weeks.

Influences

Simon Rich has called Woody Allen his hero, specifically citing his short-story collections as major influences. He has also cited Roald Dahl and Mel Brooks as influences.

Personal life

Rich lives in Los Angeles with his wife, author Kathleen Hale. They have two daughters.

Regarding his religious beliefs, he previously called himself an atheist. However, in a 2019 interview, he said, "To call yourself an atheist means you are certain about something, and I am not sure about anything."

Filmography

Film

Television

Bibliography

Novels

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* (reissued in 2019 under the title ''Miracle Workers'')

Short fiction

;Collections
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Essays, reporting and other contributions

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* Title in the online table of contents is "Mario, not so super at forty".
* Title in the online table of contents is "When I was a boy, back before Earth got too hot to live on ...".
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;Notes

References

External links

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Work by Rich
in ''The New Yorker''

on '' The Sound of Young America'' public-radio program

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Simon
1984 births
Living people
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American screenwriters
American male novelists
American male screenwriters
American male television writers
American people of Jewish descent
American television writers
Dalton School alumni
The Harvard Lampoon alumni
Jewish American comedians
Jewish male comedians
Jewish American novelists
Jewish American screenwriters
The New Yorker people
Novelists from New York (state)
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Comedians from New York City