Cartoonist and writer Liza Donnelly discusses the research that shaped her work on the women who helped shape The New Yorker.

Registration for this event has sold out. A limited number of standby tickets may be available on the day of the event.

From The New Yorker’s first issue, women have been providing the magazine the sharp humor and distinctive styles that have defined its cartoons. Until recently their stories have often gone untold. In Liza Donnelly’s book, Very Funny Ladies, informed by her research at the Library and drawing on its extensive collections of The New Yorker papers, Donnelly blends biographical sketches, cartoons, and social history, including conversations with Roz Chast, Liana Finck, Amy Hwang, and others. The book also inspired her upcoming documentary project, Women Laughing. Donnelly shares the delights and insights of her archival research and reflects on how she brings these women’s stories to light.

Presented in conjunction with The New York Public Library’s major exhibition A Century of The New Yorker, on view through February 21, 2026, which draws on NYPL's collections, including the magazine's voluminous archives and the papers of many of its contributors, to bring to life the people, stories, and ideas that made The New Yorker.

To join | Please register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open around 1:30 PM. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Liza Donnelly is an award-winning cartoonist and writer for The New Yorker Magazine, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Donnelly’s TED talk received 1.5 million views and was translated into 42 languages, and she has spoken at the United Nations, SXSW, The New Yorker Festival, NGO’s, universities, and is a cultural envoy for the U.S. State Department. Author of 18 books, her most recent is Very Funny Ladies: The New Yorker’s Women Cartoonists, which is also the subject of the forthcoming documentary, Women Laughing, which she directed. She is a Vassar Visiting Scholar, a Barnard Athena Distinguished Leadership Fellow, and serves on the board of the Norman Rockwell Museum.

READ THE BOOK:

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog

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ACCESSIBILITY

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Liza Donnelly © Eric Korenman