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Harrison Scott Key

Education

  • Ph.D., playwriting, Southern Illinois University
  • M.F.A., writing, Savannah College of Art and Design
  • M.S., theater, Texas A&M University-Commerce
  • B.A., psychology, Belhaven College

Awards, recognitions, and honors

Residencies

  • The Edward Albee Foundation — Montauk, New York, 2014

Awards and Honors

  • Thurber Prize for American Humor, The World's Largest Man, 2016
  • Distinguished Alumni Award, Southern Illinois University, 2017
  • "Man Is but an Ass," Notable Essay, Best American Essays 2016, Jonathan Franzen, ed.
  • "Best Nonfiction Books of 2015," Kirkus Reviews
  • Winner, Literary Death Match, War Memorial Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, 2015.
  • "Fifty Best-Dressed Southerners," Southern Living, 2015
  • "How I Became a Famous Writer," Notable Essay, Best American Essays 2015, Ariel Levy, ed.
  • "Fifty Shades of Greyhound," Featured Essay, Best American Travel Writing 2014, Paul Theroux, ed.
  • "The Imaginary Farm," Notable Essay, Best American Essays 2013, Cheryl Strayed, ed.
  • Creative Nonfiction, first-place essay, "Southern Sin" Contest, "The Wishbone"
  • Pushcart Nomination, "The Wishbone" (orig. published in Creative Nonfiction, 2013)
  • Pushcart Prize Special Mention, "The Fabulous Bestiary of Alton's Creek" (orig. published The Pinch, 2011)
  • Cicero Speechwriting Awards 2010, First Place / Educator Category, "Pax et Bonum: The Dedication of the SCAD Thomas Center for Historic Preservation."

Publications and presentations

Books

  • Congratulations, Who Are You Again? (Harper Perennial), 2018
  • The World’s Largest Man: A Memoir (HarperCollins), 2015

Anthologies

  • Key, Harrison Scott. "The Meek Shall Inherit the Memoir." Southern Writers On Writing, Susan Cushman, ed. University Press of Mississippi, 2018.
  • Key, Harrison Scott. "The Wishbone." True Stories, Well Told: From the First 20 Years of Creative Nonfiction Magazine, Lee Gutkind, ed. In Fact Books, 2014.
  • Key, Harrison Scott. "Fifty Shades of Greyhound." Best American Travel Writing 2014, Paul Theroux, ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2014.

Essays, Stories, and Articles

  • "Swiss Army Painter," The Bitter Southerner, 2019.
  • "Please Stop Asking Me if I Want a Son," Men's Journal, 2018.
  • "The Great American Dream Value Men," Salon, 2018.
  • "So I Married an Insult Comic," Oxford American, 2018.
  • "Mom Joke," The Bitter Southerner, 2018.
  • "What Does a Real Man Wear Under His Kilt?" The American Conservative, 2018.
  • "Confessions of a Bad Christian," The American Conservative, 2018.
  • "On Bleeding Funny," Mockingbird, 2018.
  • "The Christmas I Don't Remember," Savannah Magazine, 2017.
  • "The Hellhound of Boligee," Oxford American, 2017.
  • "White People on Boats," Town & Country, 2017.
  • "Another Monster in the House," Gulf Coast, 2016.
  • "Tough Christmas Love," Southern Living, 2015.
  • "My Dad Tried to Kill Me With an Alligator," Outside, 2015.
  • "How to Talk to Your Child's Professors," New York Times, 2015.
  • "How to Call Your Wife a 'Sex Kitten' in Print," Salon, 2015.
  • "What They're Reading: Harrison Scott Key," BookPage, 2015.
  • "Standing Desk Yoga Poses for Beginners," McSweeney's Internet Tendency, 2015.
  • "Man Is but an Ass," Image Journal, 2015.
  • "Eff Scott," Oxford American, 2015.
  • "The Meek Shall Inherit the Memoir," Creative Nonfiction, 2015.
  • "How I Became a Famous Writer," Oxford American, 2014.
  • "Don't Sex With East Texas," Oxford American, 2014.
  • "The Boy Who Was Stuck in a Tree," Oxford American, 2013.
  • "A Secret Race of Giants," Oxford American, 2013.
  • "Space Invaders," Oxford American, 2013.
  • "Fifty Shades of Greyhound," Oxford American, 2013.
  • "The Wishbone," Creative Nonfiction, 2013.
  • "Don't Tell Me a Love Story," Oxford American, 2013.
  • "Bring Me Some Tuba," Oxford American, 2013.
  • "The Magical Christmas Teat," Oxford American, 2012.
  • "The Ballad of Jimmy Crack Corn," Oxford American, 2012.
  • "The Family Issue," Oxford American, 2012.
  • "The Inscrutable Calvinist," Oxford American, 2012.
  • "The Old Man with No Pants," Oxford American, 2012.
  • "Love in the Time of Coloring," Oxford American, 2012.
  • "A Backstory," Oxford American, 2012.
  • "Lowcountry Bull," Oxford American, 2012.
  • "The Imaginary Farm," Oxford American, 2012.
  • "Fallacy-Themed Villains and Superheroes," Defenestration, 2012.
  • "The Fabulous Bestiary of Alton's Creek," The Pinch, 2011.
  • "American Idol Judges My Recent Karaoke Performance," Defenestration, 2010.
  • "Those Imaginary Miles," Swink, 2010.
  • "A Letter to the YMCA About the New Pool Regulations," Document, 2010.
  • "The Phosphorescent List," City Journal, 2008.
  • "Animal Planet," WORLD, 2007.
  • "Giving Their Names Back," WORLD, 2006.
  • "The Bow-Tied Penitent," The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2005.
  • "The Dentist and the Oracle," The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2005.
  • "The Happy Question," The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2005.