Tweaking the familiar until it warps; David Sedaris mines poignant comedy from his peculiar childhood in North Carolina, his bizarre career path, and his move with his lover to France. Including his last releases, the New York Times’ Bestselling books, When You Are Engulfed in Flames and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, David Sedaris’ wickedly witty observations of the ordinary-bizarre is always sure to deliver insights and laughs.

One of six children in a second-generation Greek family, he grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1977, he dropped out of Kent State University to hitchhike around the country. Aside from working as an elf, Sedaris has worked a number of charmingly quirky jobs such as a house painter, an apple picker, an aide in a mental hospital, a creative writing teacher at the Art Institute of Chicago, and an apartment cleaner.

Sedaris made his comic debut recounting his strange-but-true experiences of being a Macy’s elf, reading his “Santaland Diaries” on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition in 1992. His sardonic humor and incisive social critique have made him one of NPR’s most popular and humorous commentators. In 2001, he was named Humorist of the Year by Time magazine and received the Thurber Prize for American Humor. On April 23, 2013, Sedaris released his newest highly anticipated book entitled Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls.