About David Sedaris
Often described as one of the greatest American storytellers of our age, David Sedaris is an author, comedian, humorist, playwright and popular radio contributor. If you’ve never seen David Sedaris live, you’re in for a treat, as the 2020 David Sedaris tour is coming to North American cities from coast to coast!
In 1989, Sedaris was in Chicago, teaching writing part time and reading aloud from his diary at an open mic when Ira Glass, a producer with Chicago Public Radio, asked him to appear on his radio show, The Wild Room. When Glass later began co-producing This American Life, which continues to be one of the most popular public radio shows today, Sedaris became a frequent contributor. David Sedaris credits Glass for launching his career as an author and humorist, although it would be some years before he was able to support himself solely through his writing.
David Sedaris moved to New York City in 1991, taking odd jobs to support himself. He wrote a story about one of these jobs, when he was hired to play an elf at the Macy’s department store in Manhattan. Sedaris read “The SantaLand Diaries” on National Public Radio in December of 1992, and Sedaris’ signature style of acerbic, self-deprecating wit was an immediate sensation. Within months, his essays were appearing in highly rated magazines including The New Yorker, Esquire, and Harpers and Sedaris had a major book deal.
David Sedaris’ first book, Barrell Fever, came out in 1994 and included “The SantaLand Diaries.” The book was a success, largely due to the immense popularity of Sedaris’ appearances on This American Life. Book tours for Barrell Fever and his subsequent works, Holidays on Ice (1997), Naked (1998) and Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000) drew ever-increasing crowds, and soon bookstore venues just weren’t large enough to contain the crowds of eager fans. By the time his 2004 release, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, came out Sedaris was appearing in concert halls. Tickets for a David Sedaris show were popular from the outset.
In addition to books of essays and stories, Sedaris also collaborated with his younger sister, actor Amy Sedaris. The pair wrote several plays until the writing team name “The Talent Family.” He was also a frequent guest on late-night shows and did a series of appearances on CBS’s The Late, Late Show with host Craig Ferguson.
Between 2004 and 2017, Sedaris released seven books, every one of which made the New York Times Bestseller list. You can get a preview of some of the stories in his 2021 book, A Carnival of Snackeries, when you find tickets for the David Sedaris 2020 tour at Ticket Network.