Wayne Federman and Annabelle Gurwitch

THIS EVENT IS NOW VIRTUAL AND WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED ON ZOOM!

MJCCA Book Fest In Your Living Room Presents 
Laughter IS the Best Medicine! With Comics Wayne Federman and Annabelle Gurwitch

In Conversation with Tom Sullivan, TV Host and Corporate Emcee

Zoom Author Talk & Q & A

SPONSORED BY KAPLAN ORTHODONTICS

A Cappella Books is the official bookseller of the National JCC Literary Consortium.

Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium

Wayne Federman, The History of Standup

"The History of Stand-Up is a fantastic book. A great read." - Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC's Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Today’s top stand-up comedians sell out arenas, generate millions of dollars, tour the world, and help shape our social discourse. So, how did this all happen? The History of Stand-Up chronicles the evolution of this American art form – from its earliest pre-vaudeville practitioners like Artemus Ward and Mark Twain to present-day comedians of HBO and Netflix. Drawing on his acclaimed History of Stand-up podcast and popular university lectures, veteran comedian and adjunct USC professor Wayne Federman guides us on this fascinating journey.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wayne Federman is an Emmy-nominated stand-up, actor, author, producer, and professor. He has appeared in numerous television shows and films including Curb Your Enthusiasm, Silicon Valley, Step Brothers, Knocked Up, The X-Files, and Legally Blonde. Federman co-produced the Emmy-winning documentary The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling and is currently co-producing a George Carlin documentary for HBO. He is a tenured, adjunct professor of stand-up comedy history and performance at USC.

Annabelle Gurwitch, You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility

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 proving 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 and flunks the magic of tidying up. Gurwitch offers stories of resilience, adaptability, low-rent redemption, and the kindness of strangers. Even in a Zoom.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress, activist, and New York Times bestselling author of I See You Made an Effort  (a Thurber Prize finalist). Other books: Wherever You Go, There They Are; You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up (with Jeff Kahn); and Fired! (also a Showtime Comedy Special). She’s is currently adapting You're Leaving When? for HBO with Bill Maher executive producing, centering on her Los Angeles Times op-ed about hosting an at-risk housing insecure couple in her home. Gurwitch was the longtime cohost of Dinner & a Movie on TBS; a regular commentator on NPR; host of WA$TED for the Discovery Channel, the news anchor of HBO’s award-winning Not Necessarily the News, and a resident humorist for TheNation.com. Her acting credits include: Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Boston Legal, Dexter, and Melvin Goes to Dinner. Gurwitch thought she'd be empty nesting by now; instead, she lives with her cat and child—a college graduate of the COVID class of 2020. She co-hosts the Tiny Victories podcast on the Maximum Fun Podcast Network, which Vulture called a “bright spot of light and laughter in 2020.”

COVID-19 UPDATE: Please note that we will reevaluate each in-person program, week-by-week as more information becomes available. The Marcus JCC of Atlanta will follow Atlanta and state-mandated regulations regarding in-person events and gatherings. As an agency, we respectfully request that guests wear masks in all public spaces. In the event that we cannot proceed in-person, the program will be postponed to a later date – either in-person or virtual. All buyers will be notified, and all tickets will be automatically transferred to the new date.

All books include shipping to the US and Canada only. Books will be shipped after the event and can take 7 - 10 business days to receive due to Covid-related USPS delays!

EVENT RECORDINGS
Event recording for ticket holders will be available 24 hours after the event for a limited time; please email bookfestival@atlantajcc.org if you would like a copy.
On-demand recording of the event may be purchased on this ticketing page after the program.