Interviews with David Sedaris, Dave Barry, Jack Handey, Bob Odenkirk, and other humor-writing pros: “Sure to captivate anyone who loves a good comedy.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) If you aspire to write sitcoms, standup, screenplays, or satirical essays—or are just a connoisseur of comedy—you should learn from the professionals. With interviews from twenty-one top humor writers whose credits include everything from Marx Brothers movies to Borat and The Office, readers will score not only professional advice but personal details about their processes, influences, and experiences in the industry—and, of course, more than a few amusing stories. Discover what Paul Feig thinks would have happened to Freaks and Geeks if the show had had another season; what the writers’ room at SNL is really like; how the Onion editorial staff dealt with the aftermath of 9/11; and much, much more. These humor writers are among the best in the business, ranging from veterans to newcomers, and have collectively been involved with many of the pop culture touchstones of the last half-century. Interviewees include: Stephen Merchant (The Office) · Harold Ramis (Animal House, Groundhog Day) · Dan Mazer (Da Ali G Show, Borat) · Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks) · Bob Odenkirk (The Ben Stiller Show) · Todd Hanson (The Onion) · Mitch Hurwitz (Arrested Development) · David Sedaris (Me Talk Pretty One Day) · Al Jaffee (Mad) · Allison Silverman (The Colbert Report) · Robert Smigel (Late Night with Conan O’Brien) · Dave Barry (Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up) · Larry Wilmore (In Living Color, The Bernie Mac Show) · Jack Handey (Saturday Night Live) · Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H, Tootsie) · Buck Henry · Merrill Markoe · Irving Brecher · Marshall Brickman · George Meyer · Dick Cavett “Remarkably frank interviews . . . reads like a secret history of popular culture.” —Time “Loaded with information for people interested in comedy, not just those who want to work in the business.” —PopMatters

DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT ? Every great joke has a punch line, and every great humor writer has an arsenal of experiences, anecdotes, and obsessions that were the inspiration for that humor. In fact, those who make a career out of entertaining strangers with words are a notoriously intelligent and quirky lot. And boy, do they have some stories. In this entertaining and inspirational book, you'll hear from 21 top humor writers as they discuss the comedy-writing process, their influences, their likes and dislikes, and their experiences in the industry. You?ll also learn some less useful but equally amusing things, such as: How screenwriter Buck Henry came up with the famous "plastics" line for The Graduate. How many times the cops were called on co-writers Sacha Baron Cohen and Dan Mazer during the shooting of Borat. What David Sedaris thinks of his critics. What creator Paul Feig thinks would have happened to the Freaks & Geeks crew if the show had had another season. What Jack Handey considers his favorite Deep Thoughts.? How Todd Hanson and the staff of The Onion managed to face the aftermath of 9/11 with the perfect dose of humor. How Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais created the original version of The Office. What it's really like in the writers? room at SNL. Funny and informative, And Here's the Kicker is a must-have resource - whether you're an aspiring humor writer, a fan of the genre, or someone who just likes to laugh.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR Amy Poehler, Mel Brooks, Adam McKay, George Saunders, Bill Hader, Patton Oswalt, and many more take us deep inside the mysterious world of comedy in this fascinating, laugh-out-loud-funny book. Packed with behind-the-scenes stories—from a day in the writers’ room at The Onion to why a sketch does or doesn’t make it onto Saturday Night Live to how the BBC nearly erased the entire first season of Monty Python’s Flying Circus—Poking a Dead Frog is a must-read for comedy buffs, writers and pop culture junkies alike.

A vivid account of life in the NFL—and an inspiring story of everything that comes after. Against seemingly impossible odds, Sean Conley became the starting kicker for the University of Pittsburgh in his senior year. A year later, he suited up for the Detroit Lions. But when he joined the New York Jets soon after, Conley’s injuries caught up to him, and his lifelong dream came crashing down in a crisis of denial and fear. The Point After is an all-access look at the NFL, one of the most intense workplaces in sports. Conley describes pushing through pain at NFL training camps, surrounded by rookies, All-Pro veterans, and long-shot undrafted free agents, all hell-bent on staying in the game. He recounts the insecurities he dealt with on and off the field, and the despair that overtook him when his career ended. But while Conley thought life was over, it was just beginning. Transcending football, this is the story of an ex–football player who discovered the true meaning of sports and life, and found happiness in the most unexpected way. Embodying the spirit of the underdog, this is a moving tale of strength, determination, and spiritual grit.

Sam’s love of donuts takes him to the Big City where he makes friends with Mr. Bikferd, a world class collector of donuts. But when Mr. Bikferd falls in love with Pretzel Annie, the prophecy of an old homeless woman comes true: “Who needs donuts when you’ve got love?” Mr. Bikferd bequeaths his donut collection to Sam, who uses it to save the old homeless woman from drowning in a basement flooded with coffee. This is a reissue of Mark Alan Stamaty’s masterpiece of the absurd, first published 30 years ago and out of print nearly as long. With an illustration style that mixes a benign Hieronymus Bosch with an urban Where’s Waldo?, Stamaty’s off-the-wall humor is on target for little kids and big kids today.

“She may be an insane chimp, but she’s my insane chimp!” Two ingenious metanarratives that take comedy writing to surreal, uproarious new heights. Mike Sacks is writing the apotheosis of avant garde comedy—books written as found documents, trawling through the ephemera of suburban America, jokes low-brow, bizarre and visceral in a package more formally taut and wildly ambitious than nearly anything published as literary fiction today. Stinker Lets Loose is the deadly accurate novelization of a non-existent ’70s drive-in film, complete with images from the set; it explores the implications behind Eastwood and Reynolds vehicles while one-upping them in puerility and wildness.

He wasn't supposed to be nice. This changes everything.Charlotte Robinson has one goal: survive her senior year. Well, if she's truthful, it's actually to survive her new life without her mom. Which would be a lot easier to do if her dad was actually dealing with the death. Instead, he's buried himself in so many abandoned vehicles that their yard has turned into a suburban junkyard and it's just a matter of time before the city intervenes. When Lucas Addington, the obnoxious rich kid who's been banished to the small town of Sweet Water, douses her in his caramel macchiato, she's pretty sure she's reached her lowest low. But that's only the beginning. He's conceited and spoiled--everything she expected from a billionaire's heir--until things begin to change. Suddenly, she finds herself drawn to him for reasons she can't explain. He makes her feel safe and wanted, something she'd forgotten how to feel. Just when she allows herself to open up to him, her life comes crashing down around her.Now Charlotte must decide if she can fix her crumbling life and keep Lucas, or fail and lose everything she holds dear...again.1 town. 1 high school. 12 sweet romances.Read Misunderstanding the Billionaire's Heir from Anne-Marie Meyer. It is the first installment of the Sweet Water High Multi-Author Series.