Early life
Sacks was born in Virginia and raised in Maryland. He attended Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, Maryland), Winston Churchill High School before attending Tulane University in New Orleans.Comedy Projects
''StanLand''
In May 2025, it was announced that a new audio comedy project by Mike Sacks and SG Wilson would premiere at the Tribeca Festival in June 2025 and later at Montreal's Just for Laughs 2025 festival, with a live reading. "StanLand," will appear on the Sonar network, and feature Jon Hamm, John Waters (actor), John Waters, Bobby Moynihan, Rhea Seehorn, Timm Sharp, Steve Little (actor), Steve Little, and others. The story concerns a Maryland man who discovers and then ruins a pristine magical land, much like The Chronicles of Narnia, Narnia.''This Is How We Love: The Foto-Novel''
In April 2025, Sacks published ''This Is How We Love: The Foto-Novel'', a tie-in book to the worst movie to have ever won the Best Academy Award. The movie and the story behind it are fiction. Included in the book are Patton Oswalt, Christopher Meloni, Chris Meloni, Michael Ian Black, Jo Firestone, Tim Barnes, Jon Hamm, Paul Reubens, Laraine Newman, Amy Sedaris, Scott Rogowsky, Kerri Kenney-Silver, A. D. Miles, AD Miles, Laura Krafft, Ted Travelstead, Shonali Bhowmik, Dave Hill (comedian), Dave Hill, Al Madrigal, Seth Herzog, Kimmy Gatewood, Jen Spyra, Jordan Carlos, Owen Kline, Paul Feig, Amber Tamblyn, David Cross, and Bobby Tisdale. Andy Richter wrote, "If you are a fan of hilarious foto-novels of non-existent movies that are packed with famous weirdos, then you should definitely order 'This Is How We Love.' It is an indescribable delight." Comedian Scott Rogowsky called it a work of "comedic genius."''Randy: The Full and Complete Unedited Biography and Memoir of the Amazing Life and Times of Randy S.!''
''Randy'' is a book purported to be a self-published memoir found by Mike Sacks at a garage sale in Poolesville, Maryland, Poolesville, Maryland and re-published "as is" in 2018. The book was published on Sacks's own imprint Sunshine Beam Press and it made Vulture's list of the Top 10 Humor Books for the year. In January 2023, ''Randy'' was re-published by Archway Editions. In September 2024, ''Randy'' became a five-hour audio comedy series on The Sonar Network, starring actors and comedians Dave Willis, Brett Davis (comedian), Brett Davis, Mike Mitchell (actor), Mike Mitchell of ''The Birthday Boys (TV series), The Birthday Boys'' and the Doughboys (podcast), Doughboys, Samara Naeymi, Colleen Werthmann, Eric Jason Martin and others. ''Vice (magazine), Vice'' said that "the year's best memoir is about a man who shot a porno in a Baskin-Robbins." Nathan Rabin wrote that "''Randy'' is a hilariously, unexpectedly poignant and eminently worthy addition to Sacks' sociological/anthropological exploration of the American Jackass and his curious ways. Audacious and inspired." John Colapinto of ''The New Yorker'' wrote that: "''Randy'' does more to explain certain unexpected turns in this nation's political fate over the last couple of years than a bazillion think-pieces in the ''Times, Atlantic, New Yorker,'' MSNBC."''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 (1978 film), Convoy'', ''Every Which Way but Loose, Every Which Way But Loose'', and ''Hooper (film), 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 (service), 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 The New York Times Best Seller list, 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 Pollak, Kevin Pollack, Steve Agee, Andy Richter, Paul F Tompkins, and Busy Philipps, 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.''Poking a Dead Frog''
''Poking a Dead Frog'' was published in June 2014 from Viking Press, Viking/Penguin. It's Sacks's second collection of interviews with comedy writers. Those interviewed for the book include Jim Downey (comedian), James Downey, Terry Jones, Michael Schur, Mike Schur, Todd Levin, Andres du Bouchet, Henry Beard, James L. Brooks, Megan Amram, Peg Lynch, Peter Mehlman, Paul F. Tompkins, Paul F Tompkins, Adam McKay, Bill Hader, Scott Jacobson, Bruce Jay Friedman, Bruce Vilanch, Kay Cannon, Will Tracy, Gabe Delahaye, Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles''Your Wildest Dreams, Within Reason''
In 2010, Sacks published ''Your Wildest Dreams, Within Reason'' from Tin House, Tin House Books, which contains short humor pieces from The New Yorker, Esquire, Time, Vanity Fair, McSweeney's, and other publications. The A.V. Club rated the book as an A-, saying: "The fun in ''Your Wildest Dreams'' is watching Sacks unpack his weirdness, and there's plenty of weirdness to unpack." Booklist gave the book a positive review and wrote: "Previously published in such publications as McSweeney's and the New Yorker, these comic pieces should appeal to fans of offbeat humor. Sacks and his various coauthors are gifted humorists, and it's safe to say that any reader will emit chuckles, guffaws, and chortles while perusing nearly every page." NPR declared that "''Vanity Fair'' editor Mike Sacks is a frequent contributor to ''The New Yorker'' and ''McSweeney's'', and the comic shorts collected in ''Your Wildest Dreams'' are as smart and silly as fans of those magazines might expect." ''Publishers Weekly'' wrote that the book is "a selection of contemporary social satires" that is often "hilarious."''And Here's the Kicker''
Sacks's first book of interviews with comedy writers, ''And Here's the Kicker'', was published in 2009 from Writer's Digest, Writers Digest Books and re-released in 2024 from Open Road Integrated Media, Open Road Media. The book contains interviews with Stephen Merchant, Harold Ramis, Dan Mazer, Paul Feig, Bob Odenkirk, Todd Hanson, Mitchell Hurwitz, 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), 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 (company), Amazon's "Comedy Television," "Biographies of Comedians," and "Comedy."Other books
* * * * * * *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 Philip Baker Hall, Phillip Baker Hall. ''Passable in Pink'' was an audiobook satire of John Hughes' filmography, and featured Gillian Jacobs, Adam Scott (actor), Adam Scott and Bobby Moynihan. At The New Yorker, ''The'' ''New Yorker'' in 2021, Sacks interviewed The Simpsons, 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.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacks, Mike Tulane University alumni American magazine editors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American male non-fiction writers The New Yorker people