In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #1006 from the issue of September 21, 2026, a psychotherapist is talking to his patient as Godzilla appears at the office window. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Meredith Southard.
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| "Why do you always see yourself as the victim?" |
These captions didn't make the final cut:
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| "What sort of film keeps you awake at night?" "The thousand dollars an hour includes special effects." |
October 4, 2026 Update: The Finalists
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In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #983 from the issue of March 23, 2026, a poppy seed bagel lies on a psychotherapist's couch and talks to his doctor, a bagel with caraway seeds. The patient speaks. My submission is below. The drawing is by Elisabeth McNair.
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| "I would thrive in the workplace but I can't pass a drug test." |
April 2, 2026 Update: The Finalists
April 12, 2026 Update: I voted for the caption from Montclair.
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I think we can all agree that any book collecting New Yorker cartoonist Charles Barsotti's dog cartoons is a cause for celebration. The Moved My Bowl, published in 2007, fits the bill. A signed copy was recently offered on eBay, now the second to appear on this blog.
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Barsotti's line is simple, but his humor can be deeply moving, as with the cartoon set in heaven.
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As the title page says, the foreword is by Barsotti's fellow New Yorker cartoonist George Booth, who brings a drawing of a cat along to the festivities. Reproduced after that is a 1990 letter from Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, a.k.a. Sparky, which may or may not have set this whole project in motion.
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In 2013, I posted a similar copy of this book after it sold on eBay for $15. This time the asking price was $25—but there was a best offer option.
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| Charles Barsotti eBay listing ended January 2, 2026 |
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| Charles Barsotti eBay item description |
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In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #966 from the issue of November 3, 2025, we see a cheerleader on a psychotherapist's couch. She raises her pom poms and speaks. My entry appears below. The drawing is by Benjamin Schwartz.
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| "I was on top until they charged me with a pyramid scheme." |
This caption was off-balance:
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| "I don't have anyone to cheer for." |
November 15, 2025 Update: The Finalists
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The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #944 appeared in the issue of May 12 & 19, 2025. A psychotherapist administers a Rorschach test to a patient while a butterfly flies off the paper. My entry appears below. The drawing is by Drew Dernavich.
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| "Don't worry—we're on a locked ward." |
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| "What's Bluesky?" "They migrate." "And that's why we used to carry nets." |
May 26, 2026 Update: The Finalists
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In the CartoonStock Caption Contest number 192, we find two cats, a psychiatrist and a patient, both sitting in boxes in the office. The patient is speaking.
The rules of the monthly cash prize contest have not changed (and neither has my description of them): Five dollars buys up to three entries. Real cash prizes are $500 for first place and $100 for each of five runners up. As of this writing, I've put $185 into the first thirty-seven pay-to-play contests and this thirty-eighth challenge brings my total cash outlay up to $190. Having achieved runner-up status with two previous entries, I've collected $200 from CartoonStock, so I'm still playing with the house's money, just. In fact, so few contestants enter that the odds may generally be considered favorable even for us less-gifted caption writers. My three entries are shown below, above the break. The cartoonist is Scribbly G—or Grant Meikle—who is new to me and new to the blog.
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| "No one cares about my indifference." "I've been imagining everyone as a cat." "I should have started with the litter box." * * * "I miss upholstery." "I'm sad, yes, but at least I don't wear a collar." "Hey, I found last week's office notes." |
May 11, 2025 Update: The Winner
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| https://www.cartoonstock.com/blog/feline-psychiatrist-and-patient-caption-contest-commentary-with-lawrence-wood/ |
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Yesterday, six rough drawings by cartoonist William Hamilton were sold at auction by Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. One of them is framed. All have significant toning or paper loss. They are all property from the estate of Regina McKeever Syrjala of Middleburg, VA, who died in 2019 at the age of 100. It seems likely that each of these was submitted to The New Yorker at some point. I do not know if any of these ideas eventually saw print in some form.
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| William Hamilton Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates listing accessed April 12, 2025 |
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| William Hamilton Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates item description |
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| William Hamilton Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates listing accessed April 12, 2025 |
Sold!
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In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #929 from the issue of January 20, 2025, a pair of clocks showing different times undergoes couples therapy. The timely drawing is by Mort Gerberg.
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| "Who says we need a reset?" |
These captions wouldn't give me the time of day:
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| "It's not just that. We can't agree on anything." "We work different shifts." "When we met, we were completely in synch." |
February 1, 2025 Update: The Finalists
February 9, 2025 Update: I voted for the caption from Tujunga.
February 22, 2025 Update: The Winner
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