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→Critical Reception: updating critical reception - diversity claim was materially incorrect around POC. Updated intro to include number of works published w vanity press disclaimer, as he's intro'd as an author with no upfront detail about his works, unlike his other qualifiers. Removed dupe mention of number of works published under imprint. WP blog is used as a critique example, not as factual source.
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|url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/mike-saks-439-v15n12
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}}</ref> Sacks has published a total of ten books in 2022, six of which have been under his own imprint.<ref name="entrepreneur_20180214" />
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Sacks' collection of humorous photos of television shows has been featured on [[NPR]] and [[Gawker]].<ref name=photos>{{cite web
Sacks' collection of humorous photos of television shows has been featured on [[NPR]] and [[Gawker]].<ref name=photos>{{cite web
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In 2017, Sacks created a [[vanity press|vanity press imprint]] dubbed "Sunshine Beam Publishing" which he created "primarily to publish stuff no one else would publish." As of 2022, Sunshine Beam Publishing has published six of Mike Sacks satirical works.<ref name=entrepreneur_20180214>{{cite web
In 2017, Sacks created a [[vanity press|vanity press imprint]] dubbed "Sunshine Beam Publishing" which he created "primarily to publish stuff no one else would publish." <ref name=entrepreneur_20180214>{{cite web
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Sacks is popular with some comedians, including [[David Sedaris]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldstein |first=Ian |date=2016-06-21 |title=Mike Sacks Is Doin’ It |url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/06/mike-sacks-is-doin-it.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}</ref> and Andy Richter.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nelson |first=Rebecca |date=22 Oct 2018 |title=A writer mined his ’80s adolescence in the D.C. suburbs. Then came the Kavanaugh hearings. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/a-writer-mined-his-80s-adolescence-in-the-dc-suburbs-then-came-the-kavanaugh-hearings/2018/10/19/3170fb70-c8ad-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html |access-date=19 Nov 2022 |website=The Washington Post}}</ref> Critics tend to appreciate his work, while the general public can be left confused.
Sacks is popular with some comedians, including [[David Sedaris]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldstein |first=Ian |date=2016-06-21 |title=Mike Sacks Is Doin’ It |url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/06/mike-sacks-is-doin-it.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}</ref> and Andy Richter.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nelson |first=Rebecca |date=22 Oct 2018 |title=A writer mined his ’80s adolescence in the D.C. suburbs. Then came the Kavanaugh hearings. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/a-writer-mined-his-80s-adolescence-in-the-dc-suburbs-then-came-the-kavanaugh-hearings/2018/10/19/3170fb70-c8ad-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html |access-date=19 Nov 2022 |website=The Washington Post}}</ref> 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. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-02 |title=Mike Sacks' 'Poking a Dead Frog' cracks the comedy code |url=https://www.latimes.com/books/reviews/la-et-jc-mike-sacks-poking-a-dead-frog-cracks-the-comedy-code-20140829-story.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=2014-07-09 |title=Who Gets a Place in the Writers’ Rooms of TV Comedy? |url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/07/mike-sacks-book-of-interviews-with-comedy-writers-poking-a-dead-frog-reviewed.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-17 |title=Poking a Dead Frog by Mike Sacks Review |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/books/poking-a-dead-frog-by-mike-sacks-review/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=pastemagazine.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-07-15 |title=Poking a Dead Frog: Mike Sacks on Advice, Writing and TV Comedy’s New DIY Attitude |url=https://observer.com/2014/07/poking-a-dead-frog-mike-sacks-on-advice-writing-and-tv-comedys-new-diy-attitude/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Observer |language=en-US}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news |last=Keepnews |first=Peter |date=2014-05-30 |title=Humor |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/01/books/review/mike-sackss-poking-a-dead-frog-and-more.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>''Dead Frog'' was also criticized for a lack of diversity: 7 of 44 interviews were with women, and no identifiable people of color. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=2014-07-09 |title=Who Gets a Place in the Writers’ Rooms of TV Comedy? |url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/07/mike-sacks-book-of-interviews-with-comedy-writers-poking-a-dead-frog-reviewed.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}}</ref>
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. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-02 |title=Mike Sacks' 'Poking a Dead Frog' cracks the comedy code |url=https://www.latimes.com/books/reviews/la-et-jc-mike-sacks-poking-a-dead-frog-cracks-the-comedy-code-20140829-story.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=2014-07-09 |title=Who Gets a Place in the Writers’ Rooms of TV Comedy? |url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/07/mike-sacks-book-of-interviews-with-comedy-writers-poking-a-dead-frog-reviewed.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-17 |title=Poking a Dead Frog by Mike Sacks Review |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/books/poking-a-dead-frog-by-mike-sacks-review/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=pastemagazine.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-07-15 |title=Poking a Dead Frog: Mike Sacks on Advice, Writing and TV Comedy’s New DIY Attitude |url=https://observer.com/2014/07/poking-a-dead-frog-mike-sacks-on-advice-writing-and-tv-comedys-new-diy-attitude/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Observer |language=en-US}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news |last=Keepnews |first=Peter |date=2014-05-30 |title=Humor |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/01/books/review/mike-sackss-poking-a-dead-frog-and-more.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>''Dead Frog'' was also criticized for a lack of diversity: 7 of 44 interviews were with women. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=2014-07-09 |title=Who Gets a Place in the Writers’ Rooms of TV Comedy? |url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/07/mike-sacks-book-of-interviews-with-comedy-writers-poking-a-dead-frog-reviewed.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Others didn't find the writing in either of the anthologies as funny as they expected it to be.<ref>{{Cite web |last=iamnothamlet |date=2013-10-13 |title=iamnothamlet’s #CBR5 Review #50: And Here’s the Kicker by Mike Sacks |url=https://cannonballread5.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/iamnothamlets-cbr5-review-50-and-heres-the-kicker-by-mike-sacks/ |access-date=2022-11-24 |website=Cannonball Read V |language=en}}</ref>


His early work<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oregonian |first=Special to The |date=2011-05-21 |title='Your Wildest Dreams' review: Mike Sacks has an inconsistent wit |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2011/05/your_wildest_dreams_review_mik.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=oregonlive |language=en}}</ref> and works published under his own imprint have received both praise<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boone |first=Brian |date=2022-11-01 |title=The Best Comedy Books of 2022 (So Far) |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-comedy-books-2022.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}</ref> and critique. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Kutner |first=Rob |date=2018-10-17 |title=Lives Of Loud Desperation |url=https://bookandfilmglobe.com/fiction/book-review-mike-sacks/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Book and Film Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>
His early work<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oregonian |first=Special to The |date=2011-05-21 |title='Your Wildest Dreams' review: Mike Sacks has an inconsistent wit |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2011/05/your_wildest_dreams_review_mik.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=oregonlive |language=en}}</ref> and works published under his own imprint have received both praise<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boone |first=Brian |date=2022-11-01 |title=The Best Comedy Books of 2022 (So Far) |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-comedy-books-2022.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}</ref> and critique. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Kutner |first=Rob |date=2018-10-17 |title=Lives Of Loud Desperation |url=https://bookandfilmglobe.com/fiction/book-review-mike-sacks/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=Book and Film Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>

Revision as of 04:51, 24 November 2022

Mike Sacks
BornVirginia
Alma materTulane University
GenreHumor
Notable worksAnd Here's The Kicker,
Your Wildest Dreams, Within Reason
Website
mikesacks.com

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.[1] [2] He contributes to the New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Esquire, Salon, Vanity Fair, GQ, Believer, Vice, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Sacks has published a total of ten books in 2022, six of which have been under his own imprint.[12]

Sacks' collection of humorous photos of television shows has been featured on NPR and Gawker.[13][14] 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.[15][16][17][18][19]

In 2017, Sacks created a vanity press imprint dubbed "Sunshine Beam Publishing" which he created "primarily to publish stuff no one else would publish." [12][20]

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

Early life

Sacks was born in Virginia and raised in Maryland. He attended Winston Churchill High School before attending Tulane University in New Orleans.[21][22]

Books

  • Sacks, Mike (July 8, 2009). And Here's The Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers. Writers Digest. ISBN 978-1582975054.
  • Sacks, Mike; Thyre, Sarah (August 24, 2010). Sex: Our Bodies, Our Junk. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0307592163.
  • Sacks, Mike (March 1, 2011). Your Wildest Dreams, Within Reason. Tin House Books. ISBN 978-1935639022.
  • The Believer (March 6, 2012). Care To Make Love In That Gross Little Space Between Cars?: A Believer Book of Advice. Vintage. ISBN 978-0307743718.
  • Sacks, Mike (June 24, 2014). Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today's Top Comedy Writers. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0143123781.
  • James Johnston (October 2, 2017). Stinker Lets Loose!. Sunshine Beam Publishing. ISBN 978-0692832080.
  • Randy Dandy (September 11, 2018). Randy: The Full and Complete Unedited Biography and Memoir of the Amazing Life and Times of Randy S.!. Sunshine Beam Publishing. ISBN 978-0692135563.
  • E.L. Lessert (July 1, 2020). Passable in Pink: A Prom Com. Sunshine Beam Publishing. ISBN 978-0578706290.
  • Sacks, Mike (December 8, 2020). Slouchers: The Novelization. Sunshine Beam Publishing. ISBN 978-0578792057.
  • Skippy "Batty" Battison (February 22, 2022). Passing On The Right: My Ups, My Downs, My Lefts, My Rights, My Wrongs ... and My Career (So Far) in this Bizarro World of Comedy. Sunshine Beam Publishing. ISBN 978-0578329499.
  • Sacks, Mike (March 17, 2022). I Am Super Pumped! Let's Do This Shit!!!!!!!!!!!: The Marketing of "Passing on the Right". Sunshine Beam Publishing. ISBN 978-0578394985.
  • Sacks, Mike; Roeder, Jason (April 26, 2022). Welcome to Woodmont College. McSweeney's Publishing. ISBN 978-1952119439.

Other Work

Some of Sacks' works were originally, or have been adapted into, audiobooks.[12] The audiobook version of Stinker Lets Loose featured Jon Hamm, Andy Richter and Phillip Baker Hall.[12] Passable in Pink was an audiobook satire of John Hughes' filmography, and featured Gillian Jacobs, Adam Scott and Bobby Moynihan.[23]

At The New Yorker in 2021, Sacks interviewed Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder. This was Swartzwelder's first major interview.[24]

Critical Reception

Sacks is popular with some comedians, including David Sedaris[25] and Andy Richter.[26] 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. [27] [28][29][30] [31]Dead Frog was also criticized for a lack of diversity: 7 of 44 interviews were with women. [32] Others didn't find the writing in either of the anthologies as funny as they expected it to be.[33]

His early work[34] and works published under his own imprint have received both praise[35] and critique. [36]

References

  1. ^ "Mike Sacks Archive at Vanity Fair". Vanity Fair.
  2. ^ Kuntzman, Gersh (7 March 2011). "Checkin' in with… Comedy Writer Mike Sacks". New York Post.
  3. ^ Sacks, Mike; Powers, Bob (9 August 2012). "Just A Friendly Robocall". The New Yorker.
  4. ^ Sacks, Mike; Teddy, Wayne. "Condo President-For-Life". McSweeney’s.
  5. ^ Sacks, Mike. "Ikea Instructions". Esquire.
  6. ^ "Dear Thomas Pynchon, can you blurb my book?". Salon. 26 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Sacks, Mike (8 February 2013). "The Founding Farter". Vanity Fair.
  8. ^ Sacks, Mike; Travelstead, Ted (30 January 2014). "Timeline: Justin Bieber's Life for the Next 35 Years". GQ.
  9. ^ Sacks, Mike. "102 Self-Help Books You Can Do Without". radar.
  10. ^ Sacks, Mike. "Interview with Tim and Eric". Believer.
  11. ^ Sacks, Mike. "Two Stories". Vice.
  12. ^ a b c d Dan, Bova (February 14, 2018). "How This Writer Embraced the F--- It Mentality and Turned a Crazy Idea Into a Project Starring Jon Hamm". Entrepreneur.
  13. ^ Chillag, Ian (4 January 2010). "'Photos of TV':It's Photos of TV". NPR. NPR.
  14. ^ Douglas, Nick. "Photos of TV". Gawker. Archived from the original on 2014-03-22.
  15. ^ Estes, Lenora Jane (March 1, 2011). "Mike Sack Reads From Your Wildest Dreams, With Reason". Vanity Fair.
  16. ^ Molyneaux, Libby (April 28, 2011). "Make Us Laugh, Funny Boy:Mike Sacks". LA Weekly.
  17. ^ "The Comedy Cafe". BBC.
  18. ^ "Comics Confess Their Nightmares". CNN. October 21, 2009.
  19. ^ Simon, Scott (August 1, 2009). "Comedy Writing:How To Be Funny". NPR Weekend Edition.
  20. ^ Alex, Norcia (September 13, 2018). "The Year's Best Memoir Is About a Man Who Shot a Porno in a Baskin-Robbins". Vice.
  21. ^ Belford, Susan (July 24, 2014). "Dissecting Comedy". Potomac Almanac.
  22. ^ Stout, Andrew. "An Interview with Mike Sacks". Bookslut.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012.
  23. ^ "This Week in Comedy Podcasts: The Star-Studded Passable in Pink". Vulture. 14 Nov 2019. Retrieved 15 Nov 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ Blistein, Jon; Blistein, Jon (2021-05-03). "Reclusive, Revered 'Simpsons' Writer John Swartzwelder Gives First-Ever Interview". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  25. ^ Goldstein, Ian (2016-06-21). "Mike Sacks Is Doin' It". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  26. ^ Nelson, Rebecca (22 Oct 2018). "A writer mined his '80s adolescence in the D.C. suburbs. Then came the Kavanaugh hearings". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 Nov 2022.
  27. ^ "Mike Sacks' 'Poking a Dead Frog' cracks the comedy code". Los Angeles Times. 2014-09-02. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  28. ^ Chen, Adrian (2014-07-09). "Who Gets a Place in the Writers' Rooms of TV Comedy?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  29. ^ "Poking a Dead Frog by Mike Sacks Review". pastemagazine.com. 2014-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  30. ^ "Poking a Dead Frog: Mike Sacks on Advice, Writing and TV Comedy's New DIY Attitude". Observer. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  31. ^ Keepnews, Peter (2014-05-30). "Humor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  32. ^ Chen, Adrian (2014-07-09). "Who Gets a Place in the Writers' Rooms of TV Comedy?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  33. ^ iamnothamlet (2013-10-13). "iamnothamlet's #CBR5 Review #50: And Here's the Kicker by Mike Sacks". Cannonball Read V. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  34. ^ Oregonian, Special to The (2011-05-21). "'Your Wildest Dreams' review: Mike Sacks has an inconsistent wit". oregonlive. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  35. ^ Boone, Brian (2022-11-01). "The Best Comedy Books of 2022 (So Far)". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  36. ^ Kutner, Rob (2018-10-17). "Lives Of Loud Desperation". Book and Film Globe. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
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