Subtitled ‘one man's journey into his embarrassing past’

Jon Richardson is to publish his teenage diaries.

Subtitled ‘one man's journey into his embarrassing past’, the book covers the years 1996 to 1999 – when the comic was aged 14 to 17.

Publishers Little, Brown say: ‘When Jon Richardson discovered his teenage diaries among a stash of mementoes from the 1990s, it took a long time to mentally prepare himself to read them. 

‘What would be the benefit of reading the idle scrawls (and sometimes psychopathic capital letters neatly spaced apart) of a 14-year-old boy to Jon, now aged 42 and a successful comedian, actor and father? It turns out it would change his life. 

‘Join Jon as he reacquaints himself with his younger self during a time when Oasis ruled the charts and Baywatch ruled his heart. From his first mortifying sexual encounter with a climbing rope in PE to his pride in earning a school certificate for being "Extra Special", as well as the crushing heartache and anxiety that comes with being a young, working-class boy with limited horizons. 

‘Told with Jon’s unique, self-deprecating humour, this is an hilarious but meaningful reflection on growing up and growing old which challenges how we view the world today.’ 

Richardson has previously shared some extracts for Patreon subscribers to the Down The Dog podcast he hosts with Matt Forde.

Out on October 22, the diaries will be Richardson’s first book in 15 years. In 2011, he published It’s Not Me, It’s You!:Impossible Perfectionist, 27, Seeks Very Very Very Tidy Woman, which was written when he was living alone in a one-bedroom flat in Swindon.

Several comedians have excavated their old diaries for their stand-up shows, while Radio 4 aired 11 series of My Teenage Diary from 2009 and 2023, hosted by  Rufus Hound

The Teenage Diaries of a Stand-Up Comedian: One Man's Journey Into His Embarrassing Past  is available from Amazon priced £25  in hardback – or from uk.bookshop.org, below, which supports independent bookstores.  

Published: 11 May 2026