...from Carry On films to tips on writing stand-up and more

A raft of new sessions have been announced for the Chortle Comedy Book Festival at the British Library on March 3.

Robin Ince is to host an all-afternoon Literary Lounge in the venue’s more intimate featuring the following sessions:

1:15pm Adam Bloom: Finding Your Comic Genius

Adam Bloom – a multi-award-winning comedian – has written for more than 50 of his peers – and is finally sharing all of his writing methods and theories on stand-up in his advanced book… and at this highly informative session

2.45pm:  Dave Cohen: Barry Goldman: The Wilderness Years 

Dave Cohen has been a comedian for nearly 40 years and has written for top TV and radio shows, including nearly 100 songs for BBC hit Horrible Histories. His latest novel revolves around Barry Goldman, an aspiring comedian who gets sidetracked into a career in journalism. Hear Dave talk about his career stretching from the birth of alternative comedy to becoming a comic novellist.

4.15pm: Joel Morris - Be Funny or Die

Comedy writer Joel Morris – Paddington, Philomena Cunk – Charlie Brooker's Wipe – delves into into the hidden world of shared laughter, revealing the mechanisms that make jokes work and what comedy can teach us about ourselves.? Offering astute analysis of everything from stand-up to slapstick and sitcom to spoof, Morris examines comedic patterns, rhythms, and dynamics to uncover the algorithms that secretly underpin comedy? 

5.45pm: Zahra Barri and Njambi McGrath

A session with two comedians writing their first novels. Egyptian/Irish writer and stand-up comedian, Zahra grew up in Saudi Arabia attending both Muslim and Catholic schools which gives her writing a unique perspective. Her first book, Daughters of the Nile is an original and darkly funny novel that examines the enduring strength of female bonds.  Njambi McGrath is a Kenyan-born, UK-based comedian and author, whose debut novel Rinsing Mukami's Soul looks at revenge as a powerful tool for reclamation when young Mukami's carefully ordered life is cruelly thrust into scandal.

7.15pm: The Carry On Girls by Gemma and Robert Ross

Celebrating the women who shaped British comedy. Whether it is the seaside postcard bubbly blondes of Barbara Windsor; the hysterically historical leading ladies of Joan Sims; the coquettish authoritarians of Hattie Jacques or the statuesque confidence of Valerie Leon; the Carry On Girls are stoic, sexy, and fiercely independent. Some of the best-loved icons of British entertainment are given fitting affection and respect.

These sessions join a packed bill in the main theatre comprising Ed Gamble, Lou Sanders, Sara Pascoe and Cariad Lloyd’s Weirdos Book Club, Doon Mackichan and Bob Cryer talking about his dad, Bob.

Day passes – priced just £30 for a full-price adult ticket and giving access to all the sessions – are available here, along with individual tickets for the main theatre sessions.

Tickets to events in Robin Ince’s Literary Lounge are available from clicking the titles above, priced £8 full price.

Published: 16 Feb 2024