Humor Writing Resources

A running list of resources for writing humor

Photo by Jan Antonin Kolar on Unsplash

As a humor writer, I sometimes get questions about humor writing and so I am setting up this page as a spot for resources that I have found helpful. I will try to come back and periodically update it but I will also share more timely updates/calls for submissions that I come across in my monthly newsletter.

Market lists

Looking for places to submit your funny stuff? Here are some lists:

• 20+ Markets That Accept Humor Writing Submissions. A list I created that includes satire, Medium, literary, and humorous personal essay markets.

• 50+ Humor Writing Websites to Read and Submit To Another good list on this topic from Points in Case.

Humor writing classes

• Caitlin Kunkel frequently teaches humor writing and I’ve enjoyed the class I took with her (funny frameworks for fiction) and have heard good things about her other classes. She also has a short on-demand writing topical satire course that you can find on her website.

• Elissa Bassist frequently teaches a variety of humor writing courses in person and online. I enjoyed her short humor writing class (which I took in person!) and she has others I’ve also heard good reports about. Find out more on her website.

• Luke Burns teaches remote satire writing classes I’ve heard good things about. Look on his Twitter for details.

• Second City. This well-known comedy training resource offers online classes on a variety of humor writing topics. I took Writing Satire for the Internet Levels 1 and 2 and learned some great tips, wrote some pieces that got accepted, and connected with other humor writers.

Humor writing conferences and residencies

• The Erma Bombeck Writing Workshop is an in-person conference that happens every two years in Dayton, Ohio. I have been several times and always enjoy it/pick up some good tips. There is also a writing contest and residency to look out for that happens in the time leading up to the conference.

• St. Nells: This is a humor writing residency for women and non-binary writers. Check out their website and newsletter for residency application details and online classes (which are open to everyone).

Tips for writing humor

• This article is a good one to check out if you are getting started writing short humor/satire pieces.

• I wrote some thoughts/tips about writing for McSweeney’s here.

• Kyrie Gray, the editor of Jane Austen’s Wastebasket, has some guidelines for submitting humor writing here.

• I often recommend the Newsletter of Humorous Writing to humor writers. They highlight a few pieces and then talk a bit about why they work well. This is a good way to pick up some tips.

• Sarah Garfinkel and I wrote a piece for Brevity’s Nonfiction blog that highlights some techniques you can use in writing humor.

Books:

• The book I’ve found most helpful for guidance on writing short satirical pieces is Scott Dikker’s How to Write Funny.

• Mike Sacks’ books that interview comedy writers also have lots of great info on writing different types of humor (including writing for TV, screenwriting, and short humor pieces): Poking a Dead Frog and And Here’s the Kicker.

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