Periodical Laffs
The following is from the New York Post. (Via Maud Newton.)

December 17, 2003 -- Graydon "Smokestack" Carter and Kurt Andersen have snagged a seven-figure deal to write about their glory days as the co-founders of Spy magazine. George Kalogerakis, who was the deputy editor at Spy at its launch, is also involved in the deal.

The book is to be called "Spy: The Funny Years," and to be published in 2005. A preemptive deal with Miramax Books was inked for what one source said was $1 million - which has to be split four ways.

The fourth "person" is the Spy estate, controlled by John (Jo) Colman, who owned Spy when it shut down in 1998.

The book will include material from the magazine's glory days, such as the hilarious "Separated at Birth" column and "The Industry," which made Spy one of the first publications to routinely pillory the bigwigs in the media and entertainment world.

Carter and Andersen first hatched the idea of the humor magazine when they were working at Time Inc. in the early 1980s.

Carter, now the editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, recently signed a book deal with Farrar Straus and Giroux to pen some musings on the current political climate.

Andersen is a novelist and the host of public radio's "Studio 360" show. He recently signed up to become the editor of Colors magazine, published quarterly by fashion house Benetton.

Said Jonathan Burnham, the editor-in-chief of Miramax Books: "Spy is the funniest magazine in living memory, still hugely influential and much missed."

He said Andersen, Carter and Kalogerakis are expected to tell many of the never-before-told stories about the magazine's launch.