Weekly humor columnist for the St. Augustine Record Brian Thompson won second place in the Society of Newspaper Columnists’ 2016 column contest with his piece, “A True Disney dream come true.”
Thompson discusses where his inspiration came from for his award-winning piece and his passion for humor writing on Wednesday’s First Coast Connect.
“You’re writing these pieces about your family, about your daughter, and to get recognized for that is really exciting,” Thompson said.
His Disney dream is all about the crazy, yet magical, times families experience when going to a theme park, which is based from his own family’s chaotic memories at Disney World.
He has been writing his column, “Life in a Nutshell,” for 18 years and has since written roughly 1,000 articles. He also has a personal website where his stories can be read.
Over the years, Thompson has received numerous other journalism, research and magazine awards, including multiple Florida Press Club awards.
He has taught opinion writing classes at Flagler College, where he also advises the award-winning student newspaper, “The Gargoyle.”
Despite being known for his sense of humor, Thompson said he doesn’t write jokes.
“The column is more like therapy for me,” Thompson said. “You laugh to keep from crying and you just have these things happen in your life, and people can relate to them...I think that is the beauty of humor.”
