Your Caption Has Been Selected: More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

by Lawrence Wood

Every week thousands of people enter The New Yorker cartoon-caption contest in hopes of seeing their name and caption in print. But only one person has made it to the finalists’ round an astounding fifteen times and won eight contests: Lawrence Wood, also known as the Ken Jennings of caption writing.

What's Wood's secret? What makes a caption good or bad? How do you beat the crowd? And most important, what makes a caption funny?

Packed with 175 of the magazine's best cartoons and featuring a foreword by Bob Mankoff, former cartoon editor of The New Yorker and creator of the caption contest, Your Caption Has Been Selected takes readers behind the scenes to learn about the contest’s history, the way it’s judged, and what it has to say about humor, creativity, and good writing. Wood reveals his own captioning process and shows readers how to generate the perfect string of words to get a laugh. Informative, funny, and a little vulgar, this book will delight anyone who doesn't have a personal vendetta against the author.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comics, Comedy, Art

288 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2024

Reviews

[John Schorg · Rating 2 out of 5]

You might think it impossible to have an uninteresting book about cartoons in The New Yorker, but here we are. What kills it for me is the author, who might be one of the smuggest people you could hope to encounter. After about the 10th time that this guy goes on about the "wonder of me," you're content to just look at the cartoons and ditch the rest.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I wanted it to be!
This was a quick, interesting deep dive into a topic that I don't know much about, and now I feel like I know a lot more. Honestly, I'm not someone who has ever attempted the New Yorker's cartoon caption contest (mainly because I'm not someone who routinely enjoys the New Yorker's humor/style of comics), but I thought this was such a good exploration of writing and crowd-sourcing comedy and how culture shifts in response to technology,,,, so many fun micro-discussions that really got me thinking, even if I didn't agree with everything on the page.
My gut reaction to Lawrence Wood's writing style was that he comes off as a little bit cocky—but I have to remind myself that he's writing with authority on a subjective subject... which is what I asked him to do when I picked up this book.
It's a little odd to have someone straight up tell you "this is funny" and "this is not", especially when you find yourself disagreeing in some cases. The chapter on puns made me laugh out loud (not just at the jokes, which I enjoyed), but because Wood and I could not be further apart in our stance on them.
Definitely putting on my coffee table book wishlist if I ever own a coffee table

[Debra Golden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good one to read before sleep and when laughter was needed.
Who knew how many entries they get for the caption contest?!
The author won more than most (8 times), but the odds are against us.
He give lots of tips !!! (don't use exclamation points), what to look for in the images, and shows other entries.
This may not help you or me win, but it'll provide some chuckles.

[Geanna Flavetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is a review just a photoless caption?

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book dealing with the history of the New Yorker cartoons, the popular caption contest and how to write the perfect line to accompany a drawing.

As a child I was a big reader. So on weekends we would also hit tag sales and flea markets to feed this need. My parents liked looking at stuff, my brother got toys, and later books, and I got material for my addiction. One time I found a photo album, with a cartoon glued to the front. Inside were more cartoons, all carefully cut from The New Yorker. I had no idea at the time, I just knew I wanted it, and for .50 cents it was mine. Much of the humor was over my head, but some I could get, and my Dad thought it was the greatest thing we had ever bought. This started my love of cartoons, one that has stayed with me. I have never entered the New Yorker cartoon caption contest, my ego couldn’t handle the loss. However I am sure that I have seen the captions that Lawrence Wood has written, as he has won eight contests, and been a finalist fifteen times. Your Caption Has Been Selected: More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, is a look at the history of the cartoons, of course the popular contest, a guide to writing humor, and a look at some of the famous creators.


The book begins with a history of the caption contests, some of which had big prizes, unlike The New Yorker, the prize being that one’s name appears in The New Yorker. Wood started with captions for the contest, but has worked with cartoonists also whose work appears in the magazine. Wood discusses his love of cartoons, especially The New Yorker, and how he started entering the contest when it was only a yearly event. The behind the scenes information is interesting, going into how choices are made, the use of crowdsourcing for finalists, and what makes a good caption. There are interviews with cartoonists, editors and other caption writers, both successful, and ones who labor away trying to make it. There is also quite a lot about writing, and what works in humor, captions and in everyday interactions.

A book that had quite a lot going on. I loved the information about the captions, the cartoons and the contest, but the information about writing made this one of the best references for writers I have read. Wood is not only good at creating captions, but is a very good writer, able to share a lot of information, and make everything interesting, and helpful. Wood shares how he writes, and makes it quite clear that he asks for help, tries out ideas on others and likes advice to be given. This is something more writers need to admit, and try to do more for their writing. Also something else, Wood has had success in captions, because he never let rejection take him out of the game. That is another thing writers will have to face, and Wood makes it quite clear that while it bothers him, it makes him push on.

A great look at cartoons, and fans will enjoy this quite a bit. However the advice about writing, the rejections, the looking for advice, even the little things like grammar and voice, really come through here. A fun and funny book about cartoons, but a really good book about writing in general.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1999 the New Yorker began running an occasional contest where it would print a cartoon and ask readers to submit a caption. The winning caption was printed in the magazine with the winner's name and hometown. The nicest touch was that the winner also got a signed print of the cartoon with the wining caption. In 2005 the contest became a weekly event. There is no cash prize.

It was a lovely idea. It was purely an amateur competition. Anyone could imagine looking at a cartoon and having a winning caption pop into their head. Would there be anything cooler than having a cartoon signed by the cartoonist with you credited for the caption hanging on your wall?

This book, unintentionally, shows how every nice thing in this country gets ruined by its success.

Lawrence Wood is an eight-time winner of the contest. No one else has come close. He is the Ken Jenning of the NYer Caption Contest. This is his guide on how to increase your odds of winning, or at least getting selected as a finalist. The three finalists are selected by crowd sourcing. Over 500,000 people vote each week. A special algorithm weighs the voting. The top three finalist have their captions and names published. The editors pick among the finalists.

Wood discusses the multiple NYer Cartoon Contest podcasts and websites. He gives tips on how to best time your caption submission to game the voting. How to try to influence the crowdsourcing vote by mass emails to friends and acquittances. He discusses the approaches and styles of other well-known caption submitters and explains why some of their captions were winners. He discusses the rivalries and controversies in the caption community. This is some serious gamesmanship.

Wood is a Chicago public interest lawyer, but he explains how, off of his success in the contest, he has worked as a paid gag writer for several New Yorker cartoonist. The contest has clearly become a professional competitive endeavor for him.

He also casually mentions that the signed cartoon prize was discontinued in 2016 because of unspecified "legal problems". The best part of the contest is gone for the most annoying of reasons.

Pickleball, Cornhole, Country Fair cooking contests, porch concerts, open mics, spelling bees, and any other fun, amateur, participatory activity you can think of, will quickly spawn websites, podcasts, fanatics who can't take it in the spirit indented, rules upon rules, a governing body, factions, scandals and cash raising its ugly head.


With that rant out of the way, I will say that this is an enjoyable book. There is a large selection of winning cartoons and sets of three finalists' captions. Wood does provide good practical tips. Identify who is speaking in the cartoon. Be as brief as possible. Avoid exclamation marks and punctuate carefully. Pay attention to small details in the drawing. He ends on a downbeat by speculating on how long it will be before AI does NYer captioning better than humans.

[Ryo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.

I'm not subscribed to The New Yorker and I've never followed their cartoon caption contest, so before I read this book, I didn't know what a big deal it was. But eight-time winner Lawrence Wood explains some of the history and evolution of the contest, as well as a detailed breakdown of what makes a good or bad caption, and some discussions about other cartoon-related topics, like cartoonists and caption writers collaborating, and experiments with caption-generating AI. I thought this book was very accessible and entertaining, while providing a lot of information. There are many examples included throughout the book, and these were really the highlight, with no offense to the text. I realize these are just repeating what's already in The New Yorker, but for someone like me who doesn't read the magazine, the variety of the cartoons and the wittiness of the captions were impressive. The breakdown of what makes a winning entry was full of a lot of interesting insights, like how important it is to identify who's speaking in a cartoon with multiple people, or how it's more effective to put the surprising word or phrase at the end of the caption instead of earlier. I'm sure tips are not going to lead someone like me who's not funny to a victory in one of these caption contests, but I appreciated the many insights the author had. He also has some interesting points, like how after the magazine started using crowdsourcing to sift through the many submissions to get the best ones, puns started to win more often. The chapter on using AI is short but interesting, and I'm sure that could turn into a whole book one day. There are places where there's obviously a caption missing or a whole cartoon is missing, but there weren't that many of these, and I'm sure these will be corrected in the final version after another editing pass.

[Poppy Marlowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Synopsis (From Netgalley, the provider of the book to review)
*******************************************************

A behind-the-scenes look at The New Yorker cartoon caption contest, its history, how it's judged, and the secrets to writing a winning caption

Every week, thousands of people enter The New Yorker cartoon caption contest in hopes of seeing their name and caption in print. But only one person has made it to the finalists’ round an astounding fifteen times and won eight contests: Lawrence Wood, also known as the Ken Jennings of caption writing.

What's Wood's secret? What makes a caption good or bad? How do you beat the crowd? And most important, what makes a caption funny?

Packed with 175 of the magazine's best cartoons and featuring a foreword by Bob Mankoff, former cartoon editor of The New Yorker and creator of the caption contest, Your Caption Has Been Selected takes you behind the scenes to learn about the contest’s history, the way it’s judged, and what it has to say about humour, creativity, and good writing. Lawrence reveals his own captioning process and shows readers how to generate the perfect string of words to get a laugh. Informative, funny, and just a little vulgar, this book is perfect for fans of the contest, readers interested in how humour works, and anyone who dreams of the day they receive an e-mail stating, "Your caption has been selected."

I love thinking up captions every week for the cartoons in the New Yorker – but I never seem to be as witty and as wise as the ones who win…and some of the captions that win baffle me as I don’t find them all that funny ... but that is me. A great book for lovers of the contest and those who have a sense of humour and who are looking for a wonderfully different read.
#shortbutsweetreviews  

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I understood (or cared about) the articles in The New Yorker, I read the cartoons with great enthusiasm, as so many other children have for generations. I clearly recall when the caption contest began as a yearly endeavor. I recall too when it became a weekly opportunity. And like so many other readers, I've often dreamt about entering but have never actually sat down and done it. This book, then, scratches the itch that I have had since the contest began. It's a walk through each step of the process, both on the magazine's side and on the hopeful submitter's side. It's a reference manual of pro tips for coming up with the perfect caption. It's a history of the caption contest and how it's evolved over the years (particularly interesting: how shifting early voting from internal staff to external crowdsourcing has impacted the content and style of the captions that make it to the final round). And of course, it's filled with plenty of great cartoons.

My favorite in the book is one of Wood's own captions (that did not win nor place, but he shares it in the book). The drawing shows two bald eagles looking at another bald eagle nearby who's wearing a pompadour-style toupee. One of the pair of bald eagles is saying to the other, "He uses every part of the rodent." I laughed out loud, which according to Wood, is one of the ultimate goals of caption-writing for cartoons - evoking laughter. I only wish Wood had chosen that one to submit, but then again, humor is indeed subjective. Perhaps the idea of a rodent-fur toupee for a bald eagle wouldn't be as hilarious to others as it is to me. That's the joy of cartoons, isn't it?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

They say the best part of The New Yorker magazine are the cartoons. I’ve been a subscriber for years, but since the publication added FaceBook and Instagram accounts, the cartoons have reached a much wider audience., and with the expansion of their cartoon captioning contest to a weekly affair, the audience has gotten even larger. Now the magazine receives between 5,000 and 10,000 submissions for each week’s competition. As a result this book has a built-in audience curious about the process of selecting the winners and increasing their odds of claiming the title.
I have never entered the contest, but I have participated in the crowdsourcing that winnows the entries to the much smaller group from which the final three are chosen, and I often vote for my favorite in the final three.
This is such a fun book balanced between examples of winning captions and anecdotes about the artists and the caption writers. The author is the GOAT of caption writing — the Ken Jennings of Captions — winner of eight contests and finalist fifteen times, Lawrence Wood. Lawyer by day, funny guy the rest of the time, Wood does a great job demystifying the process of increasing your odds of winning bragging rights in this contest. ( No prizes are actually awarded.) Although Wood is of the opinion you can’t teach being funny, you can learn how to craft a funny idea into a better vote-getter.
The subtitle for this book is ‘More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest.” I disagree. I loved every page and could have easily kept reading for more insights and studied more cartoons.

[Carolyn Kost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people only look at The New Yorker magazine for the cartoons. Some are hilarious or clever, others offbeat or thought-provoking, and still others are perplexing. I have a collection of The New Yorkercartoons I can't part with. Glancing at them at times makes me smile.

This book is full of winners.

My husband and I occasionally try to generate a caption for the cartoons at the back, but don't bother to submit them. We always enjoy the three finalists. "If you have a talent for the contest," says [former cartoon editor for The New Yorker] Mankoff, "your brain starts to itch when you see a captionless drawing." Enter Lawrence Wood, "eight time winner" of the cartoon caption contest.

He provides a bit of background to the contest and then launches into many pages of "How to Win the Contest": don't be too predictable, punctuate properly, etc. In the final section, Wood explores "what the contest can teach us about parallel thinking, the subjectivity of humor, anti-humor, and the problem with puns."

If you enjoy The New Yorker cartoons, you'll love this.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew of The New Yorker's cartoon caption contest (I follow their cartoon account on IG and had seen it mentioned), but I had no idea it was such a big deal.

The writing style is a bit dry and sardonic at times, much like The New Yorker, but it is rather thought-provoking and provides interesting insight into the process of crowning a caption contest winner. I was really surprised to learn just how much of an impact crowdsourcing had on the final results of each contest. Again, despite seeing The New Yorker post about this, it never occurred to me that it was so extensive or complicated.

Although surprisingly interesting, the section on what makes a good caption reads like Sheldon Cooper's attempt to create a unified theory of comedy, though this is just as endearing as Sheldon's wayward attempt.

If you enjoy The New Yorker's cartoons, I highly recommend this book. It's an easy read (with lots of cartoons!) but is surprisingly insightful. Many of the lessons on how to brainstorm creative captions would be applicable to "regular" creative endeavors.

[AnnieM · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Your Caption Has Been Selected" is written by Lawrence Wood who has won the New Yorker Caption Contest the most (which made Roger Ebert upset because he too had tried multiple times). This book can best be described as a quirky, fun, and informative read. Throughout there are examples of different cartoons with captions that were successful and captions that were not successful. He also includes tips for writing a better caption. A couple of the tips include using fewer words, making sure to not "bury" the main point, and to pay attention to who is speaking in the cartoon. Even though I don't plan on submitting captions to the New Yorker for their contests, I enjoyed the analysis and dissection of what makes a caption work. I also particularly loved that throughout the book, we get to see many New Yorker Cartoons (yes, I admit, every year I buy the daily calendar of New Yorker Cartoons). A fun read!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

[Tawney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love seeing what the finalists in The New Yorker Caption Contest have come up with. Looking at the upcoming cartoon is another story. My mind goes blank. Not so for Lawrence Wood who has won eight times. And here he is, giving tips on how to write a good caption. They enabled me to quickly figure out why a cartoon didn’t quite work (it wasn’t from The New Yorker - wink). That is only one part of the story Wood has to tell. He includes history of the contest, cartoonists’ opinions on the contest and collaborations, as well as other tidbits of interest. Yes, there are plenty of cartoons throughout. A very enjoyable book.
I received a digital advanced copy compliments of St. Martin's and NetGalley.

[Jaylynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I REALLY agree with the top review—the author is smug af, and I felt more confused than when I started the book. Perhaps the act of dissecting humor/wit is what makes the book fail in the first place. If this was more of a typical book about the contest’s history and cultural significance rather than a shoddy guide to write a good caption, it would have been so much better. I say shoddy because the author gives both too much and not enough advice. Some “bad” captions are presented without explaining why they’re bad (and I quite liked some of them…) and while I get that wordy/unobvious submissions will do worse than a concise witty one, a lot of the humor here is, to me, pompous and pretentious and nitpicky. I think my humor is pretty cheap. And I like it like that.

[Lisa Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

How are all these people so clever? The best part of the caption contest is how different some captions are. This fun little coffee table book talks about the process and the different captions that were submitted. There is a lot of advice on what makes a winning entry, with some surprises, like how it's better to suggest something not too unusual. The most clever ones made me wish I could have come up with them myself.
Reading this was so much fun that I went ahead and found a book with some of the rejected captions so I could continue my fun later. Thanks so much to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC

[Jac Filer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and easy to read book that is full of great humor. The featured cartoons were well chosen and relevant, and nicely highlighted the points that the nuances of every aspect of the caption contest.
My only criticism is about the layout of the book. Too often, a setup paragraph would introduce a drawing, and the followup paragraph on the following page would reveal the caption. More care could have been taken to ensure that drawings and the caption appear on the same page, or at least on facing pages.

[Meenakshisankar M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cartoons are one of my favorite sections of The Newyorker magazine which I periodically browse at my local library. I hadn't paid much attention to the caption contest they run every week so far, but this book was an eye-opener on that subject. The author Lawrence Wood has won it 8 times, more than anybody else. In this book, he analyzes the ways in which you could submit your entries to win or at least become one of the three finalists who get voted upon by the public. Many of his suggestions are useful not just for captioning a cartoon, but for any kind of witty/comedy writing.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and wrote a review Net Galley wants to hang on to till closer to the pub date, March 2024, but I did the review and recommend you find it on Net Galley and review iChicago attorney Larry Wood is the Ken Jennings of the New Yorker Cartoon caption contest. Thousands eneter each week and he has won it seven times (!) and been a finalist several more times. Really fun and insightful.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Funny things…cause one to feel something, rather than think something.”

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was so intrigued by this book. I had a subscription to The New Yorker in college while I was taking a magazine writing course, and I remember seeing the cartoons with captions submitted by people all over the world. In this book, eight-time winner Laurence Wood shares the history of the contest and tips on how to get your caption selected.

There are thousands of submissions each week, so it’s hard to stand out in a crowd. He advises to keep it short and sweet if possible, but to also really look at the cartoon itself. When the contest was first introduced, it was just annual and now there is a new caption contest each week.

This is just a really fun read and the pages have a lot of past cartoon and captions. It’s so fascinating that the caption contest sort of took on a world of its own. It leaves thousands of people frustrated, including famous comedians, who’ve never had their caption selected. It sounds fairly simple, but in reality it’s such a hard contest to win.

[Becky of Becky's Bookshelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was truly so fun to read. I found myself picking it up and enjoying the inside scoop on what makes a great caption, reading bout the famous people who have entered, and laughing out loud at the captions. Reading it was just plain fun! I highly recommend Your Caption Has Been Selected More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest by Lawrence Wood.

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

[K. Lepischak · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a prerelease giveaway. The insert said 'New Yorker readers will get a kick out of this'. I'm not, so maybe that's why I found nothing positive to say about it. The cartoons are bad, the captions are predictable, and overall, not interesting . I can't believe someone wold even think about writing a book about this. 2 sympathy stars.

[Kate Meberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never followed/entered the caption contest, so I definitely don’t think knowledge of the ins and outs of this contest is a prerequisite for this read. Actually I think I enjoyed it more because of this, as all the cartoons were new to me. I had fun placing my bookmark over each caption and tried to come up with my own before reading the winning entry.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful, insightful, and charming! I've always loved the New Yorker's cartoons, and for a long time would regularly enter the caption contest (obviously, I've never won, or else you'd all have heard about it). Picked my copy up at Shakespeare & Co. in New York City while visiting my best friend, so all kinds of good things associated with this one.

[Matthew Whalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of the New Yorker comics genre, this was an interesting 'peek-behind-the-scenes' regarding how captions are selected for the weekly contest. Of course, comedy is entirely subjective so explanations regarding why a certain caption won the contest versus other entries are idiosyncratic. A bonus are all the cartoons shown and further exposition regarding their final form.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read, Laugh, Compete, Win! Exclamation points are lazy.

How did the book make me feel/think?

“Your Caption Has Been Selected,” by Lawrence Wood, is an insightful journey through the art of crafting winning captions, complete with fabulous artwork on nearly every page. This book is more than a guide; it’s a treasure trove of humour and wisdom for anyone eying the top spot in the New Yorker cartoon Caption Contest. Inspired by Wood’s mastery and his record of eight wins, I am determined to surpass his record. With enough wit and perseverance, I might achieve that—if not, I’ll certainly go down trying!
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WRITTEN: 23 June 2024

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, accessible glimpse into the world of caption writing. Author provides examples of funny, intelligent cartoons combined with tips and insights for writing captions. Made me appreciate the talent and efforts that go into this medium.

[Louise Blais · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not exactly what I was expecting to read but that's just me. The illustrations and captions were brilliant and I was quite impressed by them. Certainly not any captions that I would have submitted, I'm not that funny lol All in all a good read for people with open minded sense of humours!!!

[Diane O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hopefully Helpful

Interesting, clever, concise and humorous. Just like a New Yorker caption should be. If this book helps me get a caption selected (finalist or winner, I'm not picky) I'll increase the 4 stars to a 5 star rating.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of the New Yorker cartoons for as long as I can remember, so I hurried to enter the Goodreads giveaway and was fortunate enough to be selected. This book is interesting and humorous, highly recommended! Many thanks to the publisher and Goodreads for the opportunity!