Mike Sacks

Mike Sacks is an American author, humor writer and magazine editor based in New York City. Sacks is currently an editor at Vanity Fair and formerly worked for The Washington Post. He contributes to the New Yorker, McSweeney's, Esquire, Salon, Vanity Fair, GQ, Believer, Vice, the New York Times and the Washington Post. As of 2022, Sacks has published a total of ten books, six of which have been under his own imprint.

Sacks' collection of humorous photos of television shows has been featured on NPR and Gawker. He has also been featured in The New York Post, Vanity Fair and LA Weekly, and has appeared on BBC, CNN and NPR's Weekend Edition.

In 2017, Sacks created a vanity press imprint dubbed "Sunshine Beam Publishing" which he created "primarily to publish stuff no one else would publish."

Episodes of the podcast, Doin' It with Mike Sacks... and Rob!, have been produced since January 2016.

Early life
Sacks was born in Virginia and raised in Maryland. He attended Winston Churchill High School before attending Tulane University in New Orleans.

And Here's the Kicker
Sacks's first book of interviews with comedy writers, And Here's the Kicker, was published in 2009 from Writers Digest Books and re-released in 2024 from Open Road Media. The book contains interviews with Stephen Merchant, Harold Ramis, Dan Mazer, Paul Feig, Bob Odenkirk, Todd Hanson, Mitch Hurwitz, David Sedaris, Al Jaffee, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Dave Barry, Larry Wilmore, Jack Handey, Larry Gelbart, Buck Henry, Merrill Markoe, Irving Brecher, Marshall Brickman, George Meyer and Dick Cavett.

The book received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, saying "Sack[s] has compiled a lively compendium sure to captivate anyone who loves a good comedy."

The A.V. Club wrote that these comedy writers are "lucky to have a gifted chronicler like Sacks documenting their curious ways and odd customs for posterity."

Time Magazine wrote that "comedy writers tend to be depressed, brilliant, erratic and sometimes even funny. Mike Sacks' collection of remarkably frank interviews with 21 of them reads like a secret history of popular culture." The book was a Top 10 seller for Amazon's "Comedy Television," "Biographies of Comedians," and "Comedy."

Poking a Dead Frog
Poking a Dead Frog was published in June 2014 from Viking/Penguin. It's Sacks's second collection of interviews with comedy writers. Those interviewed for the book include James Downey, Terry Jones, Mike Schur, Todd Levin, Andres du Bouchet, Henry Beard, James L. Brooks, Megan Amram, Peg Lynch, Peter Mehlman, Paul F Tompkins, Adam McKay, Bill Hader, Scott Jacobson, Bruce Jay Friedman, Bruce Vilanch, Kay Cannon, Will Tracy, Gabe Delahaye, Glen Charles, Joel Begleiter, Marc Maron, George Saunders, Dave Hill, Tom Scharpling, Bob Elliott of Bob and Ray, Amy Poehler, Roz Chast, Henry Alford, Patton Oswalt, Daniel Clowes, Daniel Handler, Anthony Jeselnik, Adam Resnick, Paul Feig, Dan Guterman, Alan Spencer, Mike Dicenzo and Mel Brooks.

The book was a NY Times Bestseller and Best of the Year from NPR. Vulture wrote: "a greater look into the craft and business of comedy writing than you can find anywhere else….A comedy nerd bible." RogerEbert.com wrote: "Analysis of why something is funny can be deadly, but to your credit, the interviews are fascinating inside looks at the process of creating comedy, which is much more illuminating."

The book received a grade of an A from the Onion AV Club, which described it as "a series of rich, intimate conversations about the ins and outs of turning funny ideas into real-world art". Flavorwire called the book "a fascinating look into the ways stand-up comedians, directors, and even short stories authors write funny... An absolute must."

Publishers Weekly wrote: "[An] excellent book...[Sacks] once again displays his ability to get fascinating and honest interviews from comic luminaries."

The book received a positive review in the Wall Street Journal: "[Mike Sacks'] conversations with humorists poke at some fundamental concepts of comedy without chloroforming any frogs. More revealingly, the book examines what kind of person comes to make a living putting funny words on paper."

Stinker Lets Loose
Stinker Lets Loose, published in 2017, is a novelization to a non-existent trucking and CB movie from 1977. The book, a satire on late 1970s Southern-themed movies such as Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy, Every Which Way But Loose, and Hooper, was designed to look similar to a decades-old used book, with creases on the front cover and stains on the back cover.

Vulture wrote that the premise of Stinker Lets Loose is a faux re-release of “a long-out-of-print novelization from 1977 based on a mysterious, long forgotten trucking movie called Stinker Lets Loose! The book features the movie’s ‘original’ ads, 25 black-and-white movie stills (with captions), and an order form to purchase other novelizations.”

Vulture named Stinker Lets Loose as an “incredible feat of humor writing” and one of the funniest books of 2017.

In 2018, Audible Originals released Stinker Lets Loose as a three-hour comedy, starring Jon Hamm as Stinker, Rhea Seehorn, Andy Richter, Paul F. Tompkins, Andy Daly, Philip Baker Hall, and others. It made the Amazon Comedy Audio best-seller list and the NY Times Audio Comedy Bestseller List. The audio also features a live reading of Stinker Lets Loose at the 2018 San Fran Sketch Fest. Performers included Jon Hamm, Kevin Pollack, Steve Agee, Andy Richter, Paul F Tompkins, and Busy Phillips.

The Stinker Lets Loose soundtrack was released on cassette and streaming by Burger Records, featuring musicians from Cat Power, Guided by Voices, Bambi Kino, and Nada Surf.

Other work
Some of Sacks' works were originally, or have been adapted into, audiobooks. The audiobook version of Stinker Lets Loose featured Jon Hamm, Andy Richter and Phillip Baker Hall. Passable in Pink was an audiobook satire of John Hughes' filmography, and featured Gillian Jacobs, Adam Scott and Bobby Moynihan.

At The New Yorker in 2021, Sacks interviewed Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder. This was Swartzwelder's first major interview.

Critical reception
Sacks is popular with some comedians, including David Sedaris and Andy Richter. Critics tend to appreciate his work, while the general public can be left confused.

This is evident in the reception of Sacks' two interview anthologies, Poking a Dead Frog and Here's the Kicker. While some critics saw and appreciated the interviews as a reflection on working in the industry, many readers expected a manual on how to make it as a comedian. Dead Frog was also criticized for a lack of diversity: 7 of 44 interviews were with women.

His early work and works published under his own imprint have received both praise and critique.