Name: The Mechanics of Funny: 3-Hour Humor Writing Intensive
Start: 2026-01-24T13:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-01-24T16:00:00-05:00
Location: Bookstore1Sarasota

The Mechanics of Funny: 3-Hour Humor Writing Intensive

A playful, hands-on intensive with New Yorker contributors Bryn Durgin and Emily Menez on how humor works on the page.
About this Event

Whether you're an aspiring humorist or simply curious about the craft, this three-hour intensive is open to writers at every level. Join humorists and writers Bryn Durgin and Emily Menez — both contributors to The New Yorker’s Shouts & Murmurs — for a workshop that offers a playful, supportive space to learn how humor works on the page (and how to use it to make a point).

Participants will move through a series of guided prompts (with totally optional sharing), short craft discussions, and hands-on exercises designed to help you generate new material and better understand the mechanics of what makes something funny.

We’ll cover the basics of humor writing, including how to find and develop ideas, shape a clear premise and structure, and heighten the beats in a piece to make it as sharp as possible. We’ll also talk about the practical side of the work, like how to submit finished pieces and how to collaborate with a co-writer or cartoonist.

No prior experience necessary. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a clear game plan for taking a humor piece from concept to completion — and the motivation to actually make it happen.

The workshop cost is $50 and includes the three-hour session on Saturday, January 24, from 1-4 p.m.

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS:

Bryn Durgin is a writer and humorist based in Sarasota, FL. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker, her work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times. She is the Director of Programming at Bookstore1, where she leads the popular Banned Book Club. A certified Master Gardener and volunteer with the Blue Butterfly Family Grief Program, she is also a Featured Storyteller with The Moth's Mainstage. Find her on Instagram at @brynreadsbooks.

has written for The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, CBS, Funny or Die, and McSweeney’s, amongst others. She’s an editor at Slackjaw, a Medium publication with 149k+ followers that runs daily humor pieces from veteran and up-and-coming writers. She created, produces, and hosts the NYC comedy show “Slackjaw: LIVE,” which brings together writers for nights of readings and discussions with featured speakers. Menez is an alumna of NBC’s Late Night Writers Workshop and St. Nell’s Humor Writing Residency.