My Prank Letter Collections
cult humor, re-issued for fans of the OUTRAGEOUS
There’s an art to writing a letter that sounds serious while suggesting something absolutely ludicrous — but back in the ‘90’s, that’s what my brother and I did. About 200 times.
P.S. MY BUSH PIG’S NAME IS BORIS
More than three decades ago, using my full name* I sent dozens of absurdly courteous letters to corporations, luxury hotels, universities, and government officials around the world — posing improbable questions, offering surreal suggestions for new products, or requesting favors that no reasonable person would ever agree to. To my surprise and delight, many recipients replied, though they seemed baffled. Some even played along.
Originally published in 1991, P.S. My Bush Pig’s Name is Boris became a cult classic, a kind of masterclass in pranking (“social experimentation” sounds a lot nicer). Long out of print, this book is now available in a reissued edition preserving every page and every head-scratching reply.
* “Woody” has always been my nickname – needed to distinguish me from the two other “Jameses” in the family!
DROP US A LINE…SUCKER!
In this companion volume, I teamed up with my brother Stuart to push the prank-letter envelope even further. Armed with our elegant stationery, natural charm, and frankly too much time on our hands, we mailed off a new wave of polite absurdities to companies, airlines, embassies, and even a famous movie star — also with predictably puzzled results.
Originally released in 1995, Drop Us A Line… Sucker! also captures that pre-digital era when sending someone a bizarre request through the mail could result in pure comedy gold — a time capsule from a world before Google, Yelp, and customer service bots all made prank letter writing a lost art.
Now these two volumes are re-published with newly designed covers but all the original hilarity completely intact.
What I do these days
Turns out I still write unconventional stuff (just... strategically now).
Yes, really. These days I help organizations visualize unexpected futures using a technique called scenario planning. It’s a structured but very creative way to imagine how your business “landscape” could evolve, so you can anticipate possible changes and prepare for them early.
Feel free to explore the rest of my site!
