David Sipress & Tad Friend

The 2022 Brattleboro Literary Festival is celebrating the 21st year with its first live and in person festival since 2019. David Sipress was born and raised in New York City. He graduated from Williams College in 1968 and went on to study Russian History in the Department of Soviet Studies at Harvard University. He left Harvard before completing his degree to pursue a career as a cartoonist and has been staff cartoonist since 1998 for The New Yorker, where he has published nearly 700 cartoons.  He lectures widely on cartooning, and his autobiographical writing has appeared frequently on newyorker.com.  He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Ginny Shubert, an attorney and activist who works on issues of health and housing.  Library Journal calls his latest book, What's So Funny: A Cartoonist's Memoir. “An intimate and engaging memoir by an artist who understands that personal thoughts and feelings often lead to remarkable ideas." The New York Times called it, “An endearingly vulnerable tale of being molded by one’s family of origin…economic and amiable (and occasionally devastating). Tad Friend is a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker. His memoir, Cheerful Money: Me, My Family, and the Last Days of Wasp Splendor, was chosen as one of the year’s best books by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. His new memoir, In The Early Times, was published in May.  He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Amanda Hesser and their twins, Walker and Addison.