NEW YORK (AP) - David Rakoff, an award-winning humorist whose cynical outlook on life and culture developed a loyal following of readers and radio listeners, has died after a long illness. He was 47.

Rakoff died Thursday after a long illness, Doubleday and Anchor Books announced. The statement did not detail a cause of death, but Rakoff had been open about his battles with cancer.

Rakoff wrote for The New York Times, Newsweek and other publications and was a contributor to public radio's "This American Life." In October, his essay collection "Half Empty" won the Thurber Prize for American Humor. His other bestselling books are "Don't Get Too Comfortable" and "Fraud."

"The world is a little less kind and a little less beautiful today," his longtime editor, Bill Thomas, said in a statement.

Ira Glass, host of "This American Life," wrote on the show's blog that Rakoff will be missed.

"He was my friend, our friend here at the radio show, and our brother in creating the program, making it into what it's become," he wrote.