April Laughs and Recs

Audio listens, submission opportunities, and a lucky song

Hello and welcome to my monthly post highlighting things of interest for April.

This month, my writer friend Janine Annett told me about people listening to the disco song “Ring My Bell” and then having good things happen to them. I then immediately tried to listen to it, and initially thought I had the wrong song because I wasn’t recognizing the long intro. Then I learned I was listening to the 8-minute version instead of the 3-minute version. Which one is going to bring you luck? I’m not sure, but maybe try both.

Keep reading for more of what has been entertaining me this month!

-JV

Funny TV: I have been watching the final season of Hacks and am curious to find out where it will end up. I enjoy the humor and look into the comedy writing world in the show. My kids and I also binge-watched Zach Galifianakis’s This is a Gardening Show in one night (which is not all that impressive since there are only six 15-minute episodes). But it made me laugh, and I may have also learned some things.

Audiobooks: I recently listened to Heart the Lover on audio because I had seen it on many people’s favorites of 2025 lists (and my library loan for it came in). It was good but also sad (the crying image on the cover should have clued me in to this), but this was less than ideal when I was driving errands or to appointments because it was making me tear up. So next, I wanted to listen to something lighter and chose the World’s Worst Assistant by Conan O’Brien’s assistant Sona Movsesian, which fit the bill.

Quick laughs: I related to this Instagram post, and Threads has been making me laugh a lot lately.

Recipe: This sheet pan fish recipe from Caroline Chambers is a good spring meal. I usually make it with salmon, and the chimichurri recipe she includes in it is my go-to for chimichurri now. Her cookbook is also one I use on a regular basis. I like that she has several quick and easy recipes in it.

Submission opportunities:

• The Rumpus announced some new fellowships and rate increases.

• Estelle Erasmus helpfully outlined what Provoked magazine is looking for in pitches in her recent post (and it looks like they are open to pieces with humor in them).

• Chronicle children’s books announced an open submissions period.

• I wrote some pieces for Real Simple several years ago, but I had not seen them running a lot of freelance pieces in recent years. However, they recently put out a call for some that may be worth checking out.

Writing podcast: I saw Jessica Payne post on Threads about Camille Pagán’s podcast The Career Novelist, and I’ve enjoyed the few episodes I’ve listened to. I’ve heard people recommend the podcast in the past, but I hadn’t realized that it is a lot about mindset for writers. It’s aimed at novelists, but I think a lot of topics (like comparing yourself to other writers) will resonate with writers in other genres too. The episodes are also short (it feels like a brief writer therapy session).

Podcast creating and pitching tips: Speaking of podcasts, Nina Badzin has some great tips on starting one and pitching them on her Substack. I think podcasts (both having one and being on them) can be a good part of platform or book promotion for writers.

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Thanks for reading Humor Me, a newsletter featuring funny stuff and writing tips. In case you’re new here, I’m a humor writer and freelancer whose work has appeared in New Yorker Shouts, McSweeney’s, Real Simple, and more. Find out more about me at julievick.com.

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