Mike Sacks
There’s a debate that always seems to crop up amongst aspiring writers these days: Should you get an MFA, or move to NYC? The answer is usually inconclusive. But when people like prominent humor writer and Vanity Fair editor Mike Sacks offer classes for $40 a pop at QED in Astoria, it seems the NYC faction is starting to win out.
A few weeks ago I attended his class “Want to Write for Print? Sh*t You Gotta Know,” a two-hour session focused on writing humor and getting it published in print magazines. There were five other students in the class, some from Astoria, but others had traveled from further away—one guy even said he’d made the trek all the way from Crown Heights in Brooklyn. In the snow. Clearly, for him, this was sh*t you’ve really gotta know.
Sacks gave us invaluable advice, not only by providing tips on humor writing itself, but also by suggesting print and online magazines to submit to (like The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and FunnyOrDie.com), as well as listing names and email addresses of specific editors. He really made an effort to get to know each of us, talked a lot about the art of networking, and encouraged everyone to exchange emails and keep in touch. He even gave us his own contact info, so that we could reach out if we thought of any more questions. Which is risky, since for all he knows one of us might start emailing him obsessively. Most writers and writing teachers wouldn’t want to take that chance, but Sacks clearly wants to help new writers get ahead—no MFA required.
Sad you missed out on this class? Don’t be! Sacks will be holding another session at QED on March 13, 2017. Sign up here.
And check out these other QED classes for writers and comedians in early 2017:
- January 14, 2017: Non-fiction Book Proposal Workshop (with bestselling author Kambri Crews)
- January 15, 2017 and January 22, 2017: Improv to Stand-Up Two Day Workshop (with New York Film Academy instructor Sue Smith)
- January 17, 2017: Sip-N-Scribe (with comedians/writers Jenn Wehrung and Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons)
