For October 7-13, 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. One note: In this week’s Brian Agler Old Favorite writeup, there’s a line that says the piece is the perfect thing “to read as you watch the World Series.” We are aware that the World Series is not yet underway, but because of the schedule of the newsletter, if we didn’t use the pick this week, we’d have to wait to run it until October 29th, at which point the World Series might already be over. So please bookmark that piece to read once the World Series has started, and please do not read it UNTIL the World Series has started. (We’re relying on the honor system here, folks.) Thank you for your attention to this matter.

What We Enjoyed This Week

Crossword Clues Where It’s Clear the Puzzle’s Creator Got Themselves into a Jam Letter-wise by Tyler Gooch (McSweeney’s) What can we say? If you’re a regular reader of the newsletter, you know Tyler’s been on a real roll lately, and his streak continues with this piece. We’re big fans of crossword puzzles (both regular and cryptic), so this was serious catnip for us. There’s a ton to like in this piece, but we particularly love the syntax and rhythm of “Got Themselves into a Jam Letter-wise.”

Skeleton Actors Guild (SAG) Grievances Regarding Your Front Lawn Halloween Production by Lisa Pertoso  (Points in Case) There are some really great spooky skeleton details in here: “We are skilled artists with wide ranges who are pigeon-holed into the same derivative roles every season of restaurant hostess, chef who cooks human organs, bartenders who sling creepy-crawly martinis, waltzing restaurant patrons, and an off-game customer whose head has been replaced as a pumpkin.” And we hope it goes without saying, but we stand in solidarity with the skeleton actors, and hope that the homeowners come to the bargaining table in good faith to bring this dispute to a speedy resolution.

I’m the Guy Who Writes the Assembly Instructions for Kids’ Toys, You Stupid Idiot by David Distenfeld (McSweeney’s) This piece is packed with tremendous lines: “Try not to lose your place in my little novella, you pathetic imbecile.” “I identify the sixteen screws in your package as A, B, C, D, E, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, and R. There is no F. There is no O. Why? Go fuck yourself, that’s why.“ The use of foul language in a humor piece can often feel like a crutch—an attempt to add oomph to a punchline that would otherwise fall flat. That’s not the case here: The use of cursing and insults is completely earned, and feels deeply rooted in the narrator’s character.

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Come celebrate new comedy craft book INSIDE JOKES: A COMEDY AND CREATIVITY GUIDE FOR ALL WRITERS at the NY launch event, presented by A Great Week for Women! Featuring writers and performers Alexandra Petri, Emily Flake, JiJi Lee, Jennie Egerdie, book co-author Caitlin Kunkel, and more, experience INSIDE JOKES: LIVE! at Caveat on Sunday, 10/25 at 2:30pm. $5 admission, books available for purchase on site.

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NYC comedian Kendall Farrell tapes his first stand up special at Littlefield in Brooklyn on Sunday, October 18, executive produced by Ashley Gavin and Rachel Feinstein.

In this hour, Farrell discusses using Manosphere logic to explain that gender is a spectrum, the difference between gay and straight men’s nudes, his father heckling him during childhood, and being a liberal black sheep in a conservative family.

Farrell was named a “Comic to Watch” at the New York Comedy Festival and a “Breakout Artist” by Carolines on Broadway.

Two shows: 7pm & 9:30pm. Littlefield, 635 Sackett St, Brooklyn.

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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 #57.

Casey "At The Bat" Responds To That Mean Poem About Him by Jeremiah Budin (McSweeney's) Great premise meets great writing. Also, this is the perfect piece to read as you watch the World Series!^* Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and humor pieces. That's what baseball is all about.

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.

^{* Don’t forget the promise you implicitly made by reading the intro to the newsletter! — Luke and James}

Updates From Your Editors and Friends of the Newsletter

Luke just announced his lineup of short humor writing workshops for November! These are the last workshops he’ll be offering in 2026, so grab a spot now if you don’t want to wait til January! Also perfect timing if you’re looking to get holiday pieces in shape in time to submit this year.

And on Lit Hub, James wrote about some of his anger about AI, a recent Atlantic article about an African literary prize, and how generative tech’s very presence can be corrosive to literary culture.

And on the lighter side, James also channeled his old McSweeney’s character for a silly piece about right-wing weirdo Ross Douthat’s YA fantasy novel.