Jimmy Carr writes a book about crafting jokes
Comic and his collaborates claim a 'universal theory of comedy'
Jimmy Carr has written a new book about the craft that goes into comedy.
The title – On Jokes: The Hidden Mechanics Of Funny – has been co-created with comedy director Amanda Baker and writer Abi Grant.
It’s based on a ‘jokecraft’ course that the trio established in 2023, and claimed to be based on a ‘fully unified theory on making jokes funny.’
Announcing the news on Instagram, Carr said: ‘Comedy has a simple guiding principle - is it funny? Because the question is so simple it makes people think, "Well, you've either got it or you haven't. I should be good at this straight away."
‘The truth is anyone can be funny, but until now no one's put together a universal theory on how to do it.. On Jokes reveals the hidden and genuinely new mechanics of how to make people laugh.
‘If you think I'm funny you should read this book. If you think I'm not funny and you're funny you should definitely read this book.
‘Comedy is the best tool I know for looking critically at the world. Good comedy stretches the boundaries of what talk about. It pushes the edges of the norm and changes the conversation. It fosters free speech and free thinking, not just in the people doing it but also in the people watching it.’
Quercus Books – which is publishing the title on October 22 – say the book will cover everything ‘from how to identify the families of jokes, to decoding the building blocks of comedy, to the real - and brand new - secret to comic timing,’ adding: ‘This book will act as an essential manual for any aspiring comedian. On Jokes does for comedy what decoding the genome did for designer babies.’
Carr previously wrote another analysis of jokes – Only Joking: What's So Funny about Making People Laugh? – with Lucy Greeves in 2006, but the title is now out of print.
• On Jokes: The Hidden Mechanics Of Funny is available from Amazon priced £25 in hardback – or from uk.bookshop.org, below, which supports independent bookstores.
Published: 11 Aug 2026
