Writing Humor

Author Scott Dikkers will tell you how to write jokes. He’s a master joke writer, founder of the world’s most popular humor site TheOnion.com, number one New York Times best-selling humor author, professional public speaker, and successful cartoonist. In this definitive joke-writing handbook, he'll teach you comedy writing and how to write a joke with a simple comedy-writing and joke-writing formula you can use right now to write your own jokes.

Maria Bamford is a creative genius. But the process of creating is not something that “comes easily” or “is enjoyable” for her. So, over the years, she’s invented a number of helpful techniques for tricking, shaming, coercing herself into doing things. You Are (A Comedy) Special is 15-step comedic send up of a self help guide that examines Maria’s approach to stand-up in a hilarious fashion.

Can you learn how to write comedy? Absolutely - anyone can. Scott Dikkers will tell you how. He's co-founder and longest-serving editor-in-chief of The Onion, the world's most popular humor publication, and founder of The Onion Training Center at the Second City in Chicago. He's also a number one best-selling humor author and winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. In How to Write Funnier, he tells you everything you need to know to start writing funny stories, how to write funny scenes, and how to write funny sketches.

They shouldn't have tear gassed best-selling (bald) author Adam Fletcher. It ruined his supposedly normal holiday in Istanbul, made him curious, and began a quest to visit places everyone else is trying to escape from, and tourists don't normally go to. In this hilarious travel memoir, he'll enter a blizzard in China armed with only biscuits; pose as a scientist to sneak into Chernobyl; be chased by Croatian police boats en route to Liberland (the world's newest country); become a reluctant diving board star in a North Korean water park, and much more.

The follow-up to Caitlin Moran's breakout hit, How to Be a Woman - a hilarious collection of award-winning columns, available to American listeners for the first time ever.

This entertaining and sharply written guide - for both beginners breaking into comedy and professionals seeking to improve their sets and advance their careers - examines the work of great comedians such as Louis C. K., Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Izzard, Moms Mabley, Hannibal Buress, Sarah Silverman, Richard Pryor, and more as a means of illustrating the most important techniques of performing and writing stand-up.

"If there is any life that is happier than the life we led on our timber ranch, it must be the sort of life which I have not read of in books or experienced in person," wrote Mark Twain, and now you can share in that experience. The beloved American humorist spent seven years on a "pleasure trip" through the untamed wilderness of Nevada. Twain intended to spend three months touring silver mines, but the lure of rough terrain and comfortable clothes proved irresistible - as will this vibrant travelogue.

Dr. Peter McGraw, founder of the Humor Research Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder, teamed up with journalist Joel Warner on a far-reaching search for the secret behind humor. Their journey spanned the globe, from New York to Japan, from Palestine to the Amazon. Meanwhile, the duo conducted their own humor experiments along the way-to wince-worthy, hilarious, and illuminating results.

Amusing and informative, Hey Ranger! teaches as it entertains with tales of boat-ramp misadventures, lost Afghani campers, encounters with wild animals, dumb crooks, and more. One chapter, "Tales from the Wild Side", brings together unusual incidents from National Park Service reports, and the concluding essay, "Don't Be a Victim of Your Vacation", advises visitors on how to avoid being a story on the evening news.

Embark on an enthralling Journey through Wales with Mark Probert as your guide. In the scorching summer of 2022, Mark set off on a remarkable 2,000-mile road trip, following the route taken by the famous writer HV Morton, in the 1930s. Mark shares his grin-out-loud account of the road trip, uncovering hidden gems and traditional tourist hotspots. Like the border with England, the journey takes many unexpected turns. Visits to the World Bog Snorkelling Championships and the birthplace of Stairway to Heaven aren't in everyone's holiday plan. Delve into the depths of coal, slate, and copper ...

When Harold Ross founded The New Yorker in 1925, he described it as a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists of the modern era. This anthology gathers together, for the first time, the funniest work of more than seventy New Yorker contributors.

Embark on a rollicking adventure filled with laughter, chaos, and outrageous misadventures in "Roger's Rise to Incredible Failure." If the comedic genius of Tom Sharpe and Ben Elton has tickled your funny bone, this hilarious saga is a must-read. Meet Roger Sidebottom, a man on a mission to leave a trail of destruction in his wake, and Alcasa, a quaint Spanish town about to be turned upside down. When Roger and his new bride, Mary, purchase a small hotel, the citizens of Alcasa soon realise that their failed armada is nothing compared to the havoc this duo will unleash. Roger's insatiable ...

This novel, written in 1949, was Osamu Dazai's last work and was unfinished upon his death. It is set in Tokyo just after the war's end. It tells the story of a handsome editor who wants to leave his mistresses and a black marketeer woman who has a thick voice, a big appetite, and great strength but is also stunningly beautiful. It is a cheerful, humorous, and unprecedented novel, so much so that it is hard to believe that it was written by a novelist who was so depressed that he was contemplating suicide. All the reader can do, however, is to imagine the rest of the novel. Annotations [1] ...

Although there's no shortage of books on writing and publishing, there's none quite like Robert's Rules of Writing. Drawing on his many years of experience as an award-winning journalist, TV writer, and the author of over 20 books, Robert Masello addresses all the issues that confront, and all the problems that beset, writers of all stripes.

Step into the uproarious world of Roger Sidebottom, where madness meets mischief in the most hilarious of ways. If you're a fan of Tom Sharpe and Ben Elton, prepare to be thoroughly entertained by the latest escapade in the Roger Sidebottom series. Trapped within the confining walls of a mental asylum, Roger Sidebottom faces his greatest challenge yet. But Roger is not one to be deterred by the mundane routines of institutionalised life. With his sharp wit and cunning intellect, he sets out on a daring quest for freedom, leaving chaos and laughter in his wake. Join Roger as he navigates ...

From the courts to the culture, Pickleball Riffs is the ultimate courtside companion for anyone obsessed with America’s fastest-growing sport. With wit, wisdom, and a heaping dose of heart, veteran sportswriter and Pickleball Magazine writer Rick Cipes serves up a spirited collection of essays, life lessons, and humorous tales and cartoons from the pickleball frontlines. Whether he's dishing on the power of a pump fake, learning mindfulness from a sarcastic AI or serving up tips from the desk of Vin Diesel, Cipes offers players of all levels an entertaining deep dive into the game behind ...

Nationally recognized and award-winning humor writer Jim Mize shares his insights from forty years of writing humor. In addition to discussing techniques, Mize credits his original sources so readers can view the materials that first inspired him. Readers will also be entertained with examples from his writing and see firsthand how Mize put these skills to work in his stories. Topics covered include joke writing, humor formats, misdirection, tension, timing, workshops, finding markets, and more. Of course, along the way, quite a few humorous things happened and these stories are shared as ...

In "The Importance of Being Roger," prepare to embark on a riotous journey alongside Roger Sidebottom, a man whose life seems to be a magnet for chaos. From his tumultuous childhood to his disastrous forays into adulthood, Roger's path is paved with mishaps, misadventures, and the occasional stroke of luck. Haunted by the spectre of an indifferent father and the scars of lost love, Roger stumbles through school, university, and the working world, leaving a trail of uproarious incidents and near-misses in his wake. As he grapples with the absurdities of everyday existence, readers will find ...

Ever wondered what it's like to backpack across India? Two sixty-somethings go for one more adventure and just about survive a five-week journey involving world famous sights, crazy incidents and lots of cows.

Introduction to Le Tour Once more I want to inspire you to travel – to France. I have been delighted at the lovely responses I have received to my books and have enjoyed supplying more precise suggestions to some of you personally. This book ties together our journeys in France as a cohesive tour de France. Most of this book comprises of fresh writing but to make the tour flow I have included relevant excerpts from my four book French Travel Series. If you are unfamiliar with those books, I hope you will go on to enjoy the full story of our experiences in French regions such as Provence, ...