NEW YORK — A sportswriter, an essayist and a playwright-comedian are this year’s finalists for the Thurber Prize for American Humor.

Mike Birbiglia was nominated for “Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories.” It was developed from his one-man show.

David Rakoff was cited for the collection “Half Empty.” His essays have appeared everywhere from Vogue to Wired.

Rick Reilly was nominated for “Sports from Hell: My Search for the World’s Dumbest Competition.”

The nominations were announced Monday by Thurber House, based in Columbus, Ohio. First prize is $5,000.

The award was founded in 1997 in honor of humorist James Thurber. Previous winners include Jon Stewart, David Sedaris and Christopher Buckley.