For January 28-February 3, 2026

Hello and welcome to A Newsletter of Humorous Writing, a roundup of the week's finest short humor pieces and funny articles, and a celebration of the fantastic writers who wrote them. Attention Bay Area humor writers and fans of humor writing: Luke is going to be in San Francisco this weekend and he’s organizing a hangout! He’ll be at Manny’s on Saturday February 7th from 1:30PM-4PM. If you’re in the area stop by and say hi! (And if you’re planning on coming out, drop Luke a line by replying to this email and let him know to keep an eye out for you.) Hope to see you there!

What We Enjoyed This Week

Cake Scientists Say This Is the Healthiest Way to Eat an Entire Cake Off a Cake Stand, Top Down, in One Sitting (Sponsored by the Remaindered Cake Association) by Jonathan Zeller (McSweeney’s) There’s a ton to like here: The repetition of “eat the whole cake off a cake stand, top down, in one sitting;” the hilariously long title; and the very clever, very funny “Remaindered Cake Association” justification, which never pulls too much focus. And let’s not overlook “Cake Scientists,” a delightful phrase that appears only in the title, but feels like it could carry an entire piece itself.

Tinder Hasn’t Worked, So I’m Putting Myself on Zillow by Hannah Roberts (McSweeney’s) A fun mashup of dating and real estate lingo with tons of great jokes: “More than anything, I’m looking forward to finally getting recognition for having good bones.”

Your Career Aptitude Tests Results Suggest Bridge Troll by Andrew Wood (McSweeney’s) It’s impressive that the laughs in this piece come not only from the great bridge troll specifics, but also from jokes about who the test-taker is, and how surprised the people at the career aptitude test company are about the whole situation. And for more troll humor from previous editions of the newsletter, check out “Workshopping Riddles from a Troll's Riddles Three” and “I’m Not a Passenger Princess. I’m a Trunk Troll.”

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An Old Favorite

This week's Old Favorite is a Brian Agler Selection (TM)--a piece whose accompanying note was written by Brian--from Newsletter #130.

How I Wish to Receive Notifications by Emily Flake (The New Yorker) This is a fun one--pure and simple. We get to explore so many different takes on a solid premise. Every joke works and they're all surprising; you get the feeling that this piece could have been 4x as long and still totally felt sharp the whole way through.

Do you have an Old Favorite of your own? Let us know by filling out this form and we may run your pick in a future edition of the newsletter.

Updates From Your Editors and Friends of the Newsletter

Luke’s got just ONE spot left in his Tuesday afternoon advanced short humor workshop starting February 17th and FOUR spots left in his Wednesday afternoon workshop starting February 18th! Write three pieces in four weeks, practice giving feedback and notes, and meet other funny folks.