A humorist (American English) or humourist (British English) is an intellectual who uses humor in writing or public speaking. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business entertainers whose business is to make an audience laugh, though it is possible for some persons to occupy both roles in the course of their careers.

List

Notable humorists include: • Alan Coren (1938–2007) writer, satirist, editor and regular panelist on the BBC radio quiz The News Quiz • Art Buchwald (1925–2007) wrote a political satire op-ed column for The Washington Post, which was nationally syndicated in many newspapers. • Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author. • Garrison Keilor (born 1942) author, storyteller, voice actor, and radio personality, best known as the creator and host of the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion from 1974 to 2016. He created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books. He created and voiced the hardboiled detective parody character Guy Noir on his radio show. • Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927) English writer and humorist, best known for the comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat. • Kajetan Abgarowicz (1856–1909) Armenian-Polish journalist, novelist and short story writer. • René Goscinny (1926–1977) was one of the most important french comic book authors of the Bande dessinée best known for Asterix and Lucky Luke. • Ring Lardner (1885–1933) was a sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings about sports, marriage, and the theatre. • Tom Sharpe (1928–2013) satirical novelist, best known for his Wilt series, as well as Porterhouse Blue and Blott on the Landscape. • Woody Allen (born 1935) American comedian, writer for The New Yorker. • Scott Adams (born 1957) American cartoonist and author. • Henry Alford (born 1962) American journalist and writer. • Steve Martin comedian turned playwright. • Neil Simon humorous playwright. • Kev Adams • Michael Attree • Bugs Baer • Russell Baker • Linwood Barclay • Dave Barry • Guy Bedos • Nicolas Bedos • Stefano Benni • Ambrose Bierce • Jean-Marie Bigard • Josh Billings • Lewis Black • Roy Blount, Jr. • Tom Bodett • Victor Borge • Andy Borowitz • Dylan Brody • Craig Brown • Christopher Buckley • Bo Burnham • W. Bruce Cameron • Al Capp • Lewis Carroll • Guy Wetmore Carryl • G. K. Chesterton • Al Clouston • Coluche • William Combe • Will Cuppy • Ivor Cutler • Hugleikur Dagsson • Bertha Damon • Dick DeBartolo • Raymond Devos • Daniel Dickey • Drew • Franck Dubosc • Gad Elmaleh • Evan Esar • John O'Farrell • Max Ferguson • Will Ferguson • Scott Fivelson • Michael Flanders • Michael Frayn • Ian Frazier • Lewis Burke Frumkes • James Finn Garner • Michael Gerber • Strickland Gillilan • Jonathan Goldstein • Lewis Grizzard • Robert Grossman • Dick Wick Hall • Jack Handey • Chelsea Handler • Steve Hely • A.P. Herbert • Don Herold • Carl Hiaasen • Nasrettin Hoca • John Hodgman • Andy Offutt Irwin • Donald Jack • Douglas William Jerrold • Walt Kelly • Doug Kenney • Marvin Kitman • Ronald Knox • Harvey Kurtzman • Jonathan Lambert • Christian Lander • Gary Lautens • Stephen Leacock • Virginie Lemoine • Martin Lewis • Lennie Lower • Paul B. Lowney • Merrill Markoe • Don Marquis • Demetri Martin • Bruce McCall • Stuart McLean • Patrick F. McManus • Molière • Nurul Momen • Lorna Jean Moorhead • J. B. Morton • Ebrahim Nabavi • Petroleum V. Nasby • Ogden Nash • Richard J. Needham • Eric Nicol • Chris Onstad • Flann O'Brien • S. J. Perelman • Charles Phoenix • Roger Price • Bolesław Prus • Joe Queenan • David Rakoff • Paul Rhymer • Bill Richardson • Ryan Max Riley • Steve Rizzo • Will Rogers • Andy Rooney • P. J. O'Rourke • Paul Rudnick • Peter Sagal • Tim Sample • George Saunders • David Sedaris • Élie Semoun • Herb Shriner • Wil Shriner • Mark Shulman • Max Shulman • H. Allen Smith • Jill Sobule • Ed Subitzky • Julia Sweeney • Jonathan Swift • Herbert Tarr • Jeremy Taylor • William Tenn • Larry Thompson • Thomas Bangs Thorpe • John Kennedy Toole • Calvin Trillin • Aisha Tyler • Brian Unger • Peter Ustinov • Kurt Vonnegut • Artemus Ward • Sam Watkins • Bill Watterson • Ellis Weiner • E. B. White • Marshall P. Wilder • Justin Wilson • Robert Wringham