Some stories have such great charm and relevance that they can be told over and over again in many formats - and still win your heart. Certainly that's true of your traditional fairy tales or the Shakespeare classics; but there are also a few sweet modern tales that hold up well in multiple formats. One such story, in my view, is Mike Birbiglia's delightful "Sleepwalk with Me". It's a timeless story of one man's fear of love and maturity; but it is told - with terrific humor and stark honesty - through a chronicle of his struggle with a strange and dangerous sleepwalking condition.

I first heard Birbiglia tell the story on a 2008 episode of This American Life called "Fear of Sleep." If you haven't yet heard that episode, you must obtain it immediately. It will do nothing less than restore your faith in the power of solid storytelling.

The story later become so beloved that Birbiglia adapted it to a one-man show and then into a book. Now, with help from Ira Glass and This American Life producer Alissa Shipp, Mike is bringing the story to film.

Birbiglia directed the movie, and wrote it with Seth Barrish (who directed the stage version), Joe Birbiglia and Ira Glass. The film stars Mike, Lauren Ambrose, Jim Rebhorn and Carol Kane and was produced by Jacob Jaffke.

I've never been to Sundance - and probably won't make it this year - but I've never been more jealous of those who will be there. This film is going to be terrific.

There is so much terrific alumni news this week that I've had to break it apart by genre! Here's all the latest excitement from TSOYA alums in the publishing world:

• The Oakland Museum of California will mount an exhibit of the works of cartoonist Daniel Clowes in April 2012. That same month, Abrams ComicsArts will publish the first monograph on Clowes entitled The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist. The book will include essays by other TSOYA alums, including Chip Kidd, and will tie into an international touring retrospective of Clowes' work that will launch from the Oakland exhibition.
• Jim Lehrer has hosted eleven presidential debates. Now, he has written a book to share his unique insider perspective on the experience. Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain was released by Random House last week.
• Walter Mosley's novels about private investigator Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins will soon be fashioned into a television series for NBC called "Easy Rawlins". Mosley will be personally involved in the adaptation.
• Want more proof that we have excellent taste in reading material? Two TSOYA alums are finalists for this year's Thurber prize: David Rakoff for his wonderful essay collection Half Empty (which just came out in paperback last week) and Mike Birbiglia for Sleepwalk with Me: and Other Painfully True Stories. The winner will be announced on Monday, October 3rd at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City where James Thurber once lived.
• Finally, multi-talented Emmy host Jane Lynch released her memoir Happy Accidents last week.

This is The Sound of Young America Holiday Special 2006. Get a taste of the Maximum Fun holiday spirit with this podcast!

Mike Birbiglia talks to Jesse about his hilarious blog "My Secret Public Journal," and about his hilarious new year's resolutions. Birbiglia is a regular contributor on This American Life. His new book, Sleepwalk with Me, is out now.

Then, sketch comedy group Kasper Hauser talks to Jesse about Sky Maul, a book they published parodying the Sky Mall catalogs found in planes.

Maximum Fun favorite Paul Feig joins Jesse to talk about working with child actors in his holiday film Unaccompanied Minors and in his past work on Freaks and Geeks. Feig has also worked on Arrested Development, Bored to Death, and Mad Men. Also, be sure to check out Jesse's interview with Feig on Put This On.

"Unaccompanied Minors" directed by Paul Feig

Our pals in The Kasper Hauser Comedy Group are teaming up with our pal Mike Birbiglia for a veritable Laugh-a-Palooza in San Francisco on October 19th. KH will be doing sketches, Birbigs will be sharing funny stories and everyone will be LAUGHING THEIR ASSES OFF.

Tickets for the show, which is at the Palace of Fine Arts, are on sale now.

If you're not in the Bay Area, you can check out Mike's full schedule here. The tour also features dates with other great pals of ours like Jen Kirkman and Nick Kroll.

The other day, Mike Birbiglia called me. It's always a pleasure to hear from Mike, who's just as nice a guy in real life as he seems on stage, but in this case, he had a specific issue that needed addressing.

He'd just heard Kasper Hauser's This American Life parodies. His question was simple: "Are they as funny in real life as they are on these audio bits?"

Yes. They are.

"So, do you think they might want to open for me in San Francisco?"

Yes, I'm sure they would.

"Do you have their number?"

Yes, I do.

And it was settled.

Kasper Hauser are opening for Mike at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on October 19th.

Be there, or be square.