Edinburgh Fringe 2015 awards go to Sam Simmons, Sofie Hagen, Karen Koren

Congrats to this year’s winners of the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards, announced over the weekend at the tail end of the monthlong Edinburgh Fringe!

2015 Best Comedy Show award: Sam Simmons: Spaghetti for Breakfast
2015 Best Newcomer award: Sofie Hagen: Bubblewrap
2015 Panel Prize: Karen Koren

Simmons, whose cheeky brand of fun previously earned him a shortlist at Edinburgh for his one-man shows in 2011 and 2014, thus bringing him to Montreal and the United States, Tweeted out his thanks: “THANKYOU Everyone!!! what an amazing day. My voice is ripped to shreds and I’m not going out tonight so I can have great last show…as much as I want to go out and be an idiot. Such a onslaught of happiness and kind things. Thankyou thankyou THANKYOU!!!”

Hagen, this year’s Best Newcomer, wrote a longer note of thanks via her Facebook page. On Instagram, she remained heartfelt and sincere, writing: “I just googled “Can you die from being too overwhelmed?” and then I started crying again. I ran into Garret Millerick, who saw me do my first ever 50 minute set back in October. He reminded me of a text I had written him afterwards saying, “I am crying on a bus. I can’t believe I can talk on stage for 50 minutes. I am so happy.” (And then I obviously cried again)” So she balanced that out on Twitter, later offering up this: “Guys, just to warn you, in about 3-4 months I will die a horrible death in a shitty club and I WILL retweet all praise from this month.”

This year’s Panel Prize went to Karen Koren, who started the Gilded Balloon — one of Edinburgh’s major festival venues — in 1986.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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