Comedy tutorial books

We recently held the Big Comedy Conference for aspiring writers and stand-up comedians, and a number of our highly respected speakers have new books out, many directly relevant and related to the subjects on which they spoke.

Getting It On - Writing and producing television comedy

By former script editor and BBC comedy executive Micheál Jacob, Getting It On is a brand new ebook published by us here at BCG.

Reflecting on his own experiences of making television comedy for around 20 years, Jacob offers a unique and invaluable insight into all stages of comedy development and production. Focussing on sitcom (but certainly relevant to other genres), he looks at the history of sitcom and today's comedy industry, demystifies the plethora of production roles involved in comedy production, explains the strains and conflicting interests during the commissioning process, and much more besides.

Out now, Getting It On is an absolute must-have for anyone with more than a passing interest in British television comedy - whether an aspiring producer, struggling writer or perplexed fan.

How To Be Averagely Successful At Comedy

Comedian, Perrier nominee in a previous century, founder member of the Comedy Store Players: in the 1980s Dave Cohen was Britain's most averagely successful stand-up comedian. In recent years he has become Britain's most averagely successful comedy writer. He has worked on Have I Got News For You and Not Going Out, and writes the lyrics for the award-winning hit BBC childrens' show Horrible Histories.

After 30 years in the business, Dave has penned this practical and funny book explaining how to make a living at comedy. If you thought alternative comedy was all Fatcha-bashing and mung bean muesli, this book will make you think again.

And, if it falls off a shelf and seriously injures you, this book could change your life.

'How To Be Averagely Successful At Comedy' on Amazon

A Good Bullet: Comedy, Violence and All the Terrible Things That Make Us Laugh

Penned by Freddy Syborn, best known as the writing partner of Jack Whitehall and co-creator of hit BBC Three sitcom Bad Education, has just released this brand new book.

The publisher says: "Bullets are violent. Jokes are violent. Can either be used for good? What is 'good'? A Good Bullet will make next to no effort to answer the last question because it's too hard. But it will have a crack at asking why and how jokes commit violence. Why and how they amuse us with things that otherwise cause us anxiety and pain. Why and how sex, war, history, death, insecurity, hatred and loss - all the good stuff - make people laugh."

Freddy Syborn's 'A Good Bullet' on Amazon

The Pocket Pitching Bible

Communications expert Paul Boross may be best known to comedy devotees as part of Morris Minor And The Majors and The Calypso Twins - but he's also a highly skilled and qualified life coach, NLP practitioner and body language expert.

In his guise as The Pitch Doctor, Paul helps individuals and businesses sell themselves and their products, with a fantastic record of success. His numerous books on the topic include The Pocket Pitching Bible, a must-read for any comedy writer with an idea to sell.

Paul's other books include The Pitching Bible and Pitch Up!.

Your Sitcom Mission... Should You Choose To Accept It

Simon Wright and Declan Hill have been poring over scripts for years, not least as the producers of popular annual writing contest The Sitcom Mission.

Collaborating with John Vorhaus, they've released this ebook, offering a step-by-step guide to writing a sitcom episode in 20 minutes a day.

More details on 'Your Sitcom Mission... Should You Choose To Accept It'

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It's been out a few years now, but Bruce Dessau's Beyond A Joke contains lots of tales from the stand-up circuit, so do pick that up too.

Plus, whilst not related to creating comedy, we were also joined by actor, writer and producer Paul Bassett Davies, whose comic novel Utter Folly is out now, and stand-up comedy star Al Murray, whose memoir Watching War Films With My Dad is also now available to buy.