Sidney Offit is an American writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of various children's books during the 1960s, including The Adventures of Homer Fink, illustrated by Paul Galdone. In 1971, Boys' Life wrote that "more than a few of BL's millions of readers must be among the millions who know Mr. Offit's books for young readers: The Adventures of Homer Fink, Soupbone, Cadet Attack, and Cadet Quarterback." Offit is currently the President of the Authors Guild Foundation, and teaches fiction writing at The New School, for which he was recognized in 2001 with a Distinguished Teaching Award. For decades, he has been a member of both the Century Association and PEN American Center, serving a number of terms on the latter's Board of Trustees. For 32 years, he was also curator of the George Polk Awards in Journalism. As a fixture of the New York literary scene during latter half of the 20th century, Offit befriended many of the era's most-celebrated writers, including Robert Caro, Ralph Ellison, Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut. Offit, who appears at the "clambake" in Vonnegut's semi-autobiographical novel Timequake, has reminisced about their close friendship in various fora, and edited the Library of America's collection of the late author's novels and short stories. He also provided the foreword to Look at the Birdie, a volume of fourteen previously unpublished short stories by Vonnegut. Offit himself is the author of two novels, ten books for younger readers, and two memoirs. His latest book, Friends, Writers and Other Countrymen: A Memoir, describes his encounters with figures like H. L. Mencken, Robert Frost, Che Guevara, and Truman Capote.
Offit began his literary career in the early 1950s as an editorial assistant at Mercury Publications and McFadden Publishers. In 1955, he became a contributing editor at Baseball Magazine, and the following year assembled The Best of Baseball, a collection of some of the publication's most celebrated stories from previous decades. During his summers he worked at the Aladdin, the hotel owned by his in-laws in the Catskills. His experiences there formed the basis of his 1959 debut novel, He Had It Made. Offit landed an appearance on Tonight Starring Jack Paar to promote the book, and though he would produce one more novel—1962's The Other Side of the Street—he soon found greater success as a writer of children's books, which he published at a prodigious rate through the end of the decade. His stories covered topics ranging from sports to Greek mythology, and featured artwork by illustrators like Peter Burchard, Paul Galdone, and Mercer Mayer. During this same period Offit began teaching fiction writing at both New York University and The New School. In 1972, he was appointed curator of the annual George Polk Awards in Journalism at Long Island University. In 1975, Offit began appearing with Martin Abend for a nightly op-ed debate on the 10 pm. WNEW-TV newscast. "Professor Offit" represented the liberal viewpoint against the arch-conservative Abend in heated back-and-forths about social, economic, and political issues. Their debates, which often degenerated into outrageous ad hominem attacks, were said to be part of the inspiration for Saturday Night Live's "Point/Counterpoint" sketch featuring Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd. The Offit-Abend debates were a regular feature of the 10 o'clock news until 1985, though they were briefly revived on Channel 11 in 1992. Following the 1977 publication of a young adult novel, What Kind of Guy Do You Think I Am?, Offit took an almost twenty-year hiatus from long-form writing. He returned in 1995, however, with Memoir of the Bookie's Son, an extended reflection on his relationship with his father, a notorious Depression-era Baltimore bookie. The memoir was a hit, and was well received by critics and proclaimed "recommended reading" by The New Yorker. In 1999, Offit was awarded an honorary degree from Long Island University – Brooklyn.
