Elissa Bassist

Elissa Bassist is the editor of the “Funny Women” column on The Rumpus and author of the tragicomic memoir Hysterical, a semifinalist for The Thurber Prize for American Humor. As a founding contributor to The Rumpus, she’s written cultural and personal criticism since the website launched in 2009. Her next book, a humor writing craft book, is forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing in 2026. Elissa teaches humor writing at The New School, 92NY, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and elsewhere, and she is probably her therapist’s favorite.