David Letterman gets literary humour prize nomination for satirical picture book

Late night show legend David Letterman (Photo courtesy of the Late Show on Facebook)

NEW YORK — David Letterman, maybe your next career should be as an author.

The CBS “Late Show” host, scheduled to step down in 2015, is a finalist for this year’s Thurber Prize for American Humor. Letterman and illustrator Bruce McCall have been nominated for the satirical picture book “This Land Was Made for You and Me (But Mostly Me).”

Letterman’s fame sets him apart from the other nominees, and so does his employment. He is the only finalist not affiliated with The New Yorker.

The other nominees announced Thursday for the $5,000 prize were magazine contributors Liza Donnelly for “Women On Men” and John Kenney for “Truth In Advertising.” The award will be presented Sept. 30.

James Thurber, for whom the prize is named, was himself a New Yorker humorist.