Acknowledgements
This book has been written over two years.
When I talk about ‘the class’ I actually mean a number of classes I have taught
over that time and I’m very grateful to all of the participants.
Amused Moose Comedy Writing classes (2004, 2005, 2006) were my early
guinea pigs along with the 2007 ‘Jokes Jokes Jokes’ class held in Hastings.
Paul F. Taylor, Ayad Andrews, Kim Dolman, Maureen Younger Isabelle Tonge,
Christine Lawrence, David the mystery man from Hastings, Paul Westwood,
Kevin Conn, Sue Lenier, John Kelly, Bea Lacey, Steve Savage, Martin Ansell,
Val Lee, Karl Edrik (RIP, he’s out there somewhere enjoying the cosmic joke)
and Steve Rose from my two 2008 Joke writing Classes. These good people
sparked the whole idea of a joke writing book.
Jennifer Allen, Danny Banks, Karl Davison, Anton Hammond, Kara Jeffrey,
Bruce Knight, Bea Lacey, Val Lee, Sue Lenier, Clive Osborne, Kaye Quinley
and Steve Savage from the 2008 Stand-up Course. They created the Strikes Joke-
web in Chapter 3.
Heather Alexandra, Martin Ansell, Simon Cooper, LouLou Cousin, Karl
Davison, Jean Kelley, Anton Hammond, Anita Jardine, Val Lee, Sidonie Mitchel
Wade, Clive Osbourne, Suzi Payton and Steve Savage from the 2009
Intermediate Stand-up Class. They did the Art-Relationships Double Joke-web in
Chapter 5.
Thanks also to the 2008 Amused Moose, Edinburgh Comedy Writing Course as
well as the people who attended my workshop at the 2008 British Association of
Comedy Writers Conference which the Carol Vorderman exercise in Writing
Jokes From Newspapers (Chapter 7) is based on.
I’d like to give a particular mention to...
Elisa Roche from the Daily Express who kindly gave me permission to use her
article ‘It’s sum task to find a new Carol’ in Writing Jokes From Newspapers
(Chapter 7).
Paul Westwood, Sue Lenier and John Kelly (2008 Joke writing Class) who wrote
nearly all the jokes in Redefinitions - How Did The Class Do (Chapter 1).
LouLou Cousin and Jean Kelley (2009 Intermediate Stand-up course) who gave
me permission to use their homework and wrote the bulk of the jokes in Hadron
Joke Collider - How Did The Class Do (Chapter 5).
Piers Campbell (Amused Moose Comedy Writing Course) who wrote the
Mohican story in one of my early classes and I have used it as an example ever
since. It appears in Chapter 1.
Bea Lacey (2008 Joke Writing Course) for showing me that the Surrealist
Inquisition was a viable method of joke writing and for some people it’s where
it’s at!
Ayad Andrews and Sue Lenier who wrote various jokes featured in several How
Did the Class Do sections. Ayad also read the mostly terrible early drafts of this
book and gave me encouragement anyway.
Angie McAvoy from whose writing method I developed the Stream-of-
Consciousness exercises.
Andrew Jobbins who experimented on jokes with me in the late nineties and
with whom I discovered that jokes exist in the ether.
Hils Jago for knowing I could teach joke writing before I knew it myself.
Simon Dowd who is the comic who used to write toppers for my sketches
(Chapter 8), and whose Friday afternoon phone calls (Chapter 13) made me
reassess what comedy was all about. He gave me endless support writing this
book.
Rachel Spring and John Kelly who, along with Paul Westwood (already
mentioned above), proof read this book at different stages.
The Illiterati. My local creative writing group who allowed me to read them
sections of this book (sometimes over and over again).
Andrea Samuelson for endless support and ‘power chats’.
Sue Middleton for being so supportive always.
Dan Evans, whose comments on my manuscript were so insightful that this book
is better for him having read it.
Joe Gregory for redrawing my cartoons so wonderfully.
Steve Amos and SATC for kick-starting my comedy courses in Hastings.
Finally, I am very grateful to Tim Vine, Jason John Whitehead and Tiernan
Dooyab for letting me use their beautifully crafted jokes as examples in this
book.
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