Paul Rudnick

Paul Rudnick is a novelist, playwright, essayist and screenwriter, whom The New York Times has called, “one of our pre-eminent humorists.” His plays have been produced both on and off Broadway and around the world, and include I HATE HAMLET, JEFFREY, THE MOST FABULOUS STORY EVER TOLD, VALHALLA, REGRETS ONLY and THE NEW CENTURY. He has won an Obie Award, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and the John Gassner Playwrighting Award. His novels include FARRELL COVINGTON AND THE LIMITS OF STYLE, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?, I’LL TAKE IT, PLAYING THE PALACE and SOCIAL DISEASE. He’s a regular contributor to The New Yorker and his articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Esquire, Spy and Vanity Fair. HarperCollins has published both Mr. Rudnick’s COLLECTED PLAYS and a group of essays entitled I SHUDDER. His essays have been included in The New Yorker anthologies FIERCE PAJAMAS and DISQUIET, PLEASE. Mr Rudnick is rumored to be quite close to Premiere magazine’s film critic Libby Gelman-Waxner, whose collected columns were published by St. Martins under the title IF YOU ASK ME. Mr. Rudnick’s screenplays include IN&OUT, ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES, SISTER ACT, COASTAL ELITES and the film adaptation of JEFFREY. His Young Adult novels, GORGEOUS and IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT, have been published by Scholastic. Mr. Rudnick has appeared on the Today Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, Conan O’Brien, A Prairie Home Companion and Fresh Air, along with other programs and podcasts, and he appears in the documentary THE CELLULOID CLOSET. His new espionage thriller entitled THE TUXEDO SOCIETY will be published in May of 2026 by Simon&Schuster.