John Wenzel

About

I'm an insatiably curious journalist and digital storyteller who writes about arts and culture as a reporter/critic at The Denver Post, and a freelancer for Esquire, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vulture, SPIN, The Guardian and others. My nonfiction book, "Mock Stars" (Fulcrum/Speck), heralded the second stand-up comedy boom, and my essays in other books, including the first anthology from The Spit Take (Paradisiac), helped usher comedy journalism into the realm of cultural criticism. I'm a fellow of the National Critics Institute and McCormick Tribune Foundation, and part of The Denver Post team that won a staff Pulitzer Prize in 2013 for our coverage of the Aurora theater shooting. I've won awards from The Associated Press, Colorado Press Association, Colorado Association of Black Journalists and others. Creative pursuits not limited to bands and home recording, hobbit gardenry, Guided by Voices lore, gaming, and existential dreading. (NOTE: Please do not pitch me stories here. Email me at jwenzel@denverpost.com)