A Newsletter of Humorous Writing: End of 2024 Edition
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
Hello and welcome to A Newsletter of Humorous Writing, End of 2024 Edition, a roundup of the year's finest short humor pieces and funny articles, and a celebration of the fantastic writers who wrote them. I think we’ve said everything we wanted to about 2024, except for one thing: does the fact that 2+0+2=4 mean that angels are speaking directly to us?
What We Enjoyed This Year (In Chronological Order)
We've spent many long nights around the End of Year List Decision Table (EoYLDT) here at Humorous Readings Headquarters (HRHQ), rereading the pieces we liked in 2024 and deciding on twelve of our favorites. As is always the case, it's an impossible task. There was so much great writing this year, and you can still read all of our picks and commentary in our Vault of Humorous Writing (VoHW), which is teeming with great short humor. We hope you enjoyed these pieces as much as we did, and thanks for reading.
Do We Need to Take This Outside? by Henry Block (McSweeney's)
The Riddle Master Hits Middle Age by Sam Weiner (McSweeney's)
How to Prepare For Feet Season by Ysabel Yates (McSweeney's)
How to Introduce Whipped Cream Into Your Sex Life Without Completely Ignoring Your Partner by Madison Dillard (Reductress)
I Tried IHOP’s Sonic the Hedgehog Menu So You Don’t Have to, But I Wish You’d Help Out Once in a While by Troy Doetch (McSweeney’s)
So Sorry! Just Seeing Your Ransom Note Now by Mike Langley (McSweeney’s)
A Nostalgic Reverie for My Youth, When I Wasn’t So Nostalgic All the Time by Simon Henriques (McSweeney’s)
Girl Ransom Note by Megan Amram (McSweeney’s)
Times I Have Suspected My Therapist Might Be a Baby by Lillie Franks (Points in Case)
The Thing About My Non-Committal Boyfriend Is That He Was Hurt in a Previous Relationship Also He Can’t Close His Eyes Completely like a Furby by Tessia Phillips (Points in Case)
I’m Not a Passenger Princess. I’m a Trunk Troll. by McKayley Gourley (Reductress)
I Suppose You're All Wondering Why I've Gathered You Here by David Guzman (Points in Case)
Some Writing That Luke and James Are Proud Of
Luke’s translation of the cult classic graphic novel MASTERS OF THE NEFARIOUS was published this year! It got great reviews from places like The Comics Journal and Library Journal, and was named one of the New York Public Library’s best comics for adults of 2024. Luke did an interview about the book with Evan Allgood and also conducted an interview of his own with the mastermind behind Masters of the Nefarious, Pierre La Police. Luke’s also very proud of all the great work people did in his short humor workshops.
James had a productive writing year! He published “Upsetting Social Media Ads for Mobile Games” in Mcsweeney’s, and “How I Use the Internet, According to Nineties Action Movies” in The New Yorker. He also did a lot of writing for Lit Hub, including pieces on bookmark styles, comedy post-election, Robert Caro, dating writers, abandoning books, ”lol” Proust, Nicholas Sparks’ Splenda Chicken Salad, and more.
We also launched our paid edition this year, and published a bunch of articles that we’re really proud of! Thanks to everyone who subscribed—your support truly means the world to us and makes it possible for us to keep this newsletter running. See you in 2025!
See you next week!
@lukevburns & @jamesfolta
We started this newsletter with our dear friend Brian Agler, and we want it to always honor his memory and his love of all things humorous. You can find our newsletter tribute to Brian here.
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