
"Dave knows his onions. Can probably write jokes about onions. They'll have you crying with laughter (it's ok he didn't write that one)" Lee Mack
FUNNY UP YOUR FICTION – ADD LIGHT SHADE AND LAUGHS TO YOUR NOVEL… OUT NOW
Comedian, broadcaster, BBC TV writer, and novelist, 8 times BAFTA winner for his Horrible Histories songs – Dave is one of the most respected teachers of comedy writing in the UK.
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About Dave Cohen
Comedian, broadcaster, BBC TV writer, 8 times BAFTA winner for his Horrible Histories songs – Dave is one of the most respected teachers of comedy writing in the UK.
He has written several books packed with fun and tips for writing great comedy including The Complete Comedy Writer, Build A Script and Ready, Steady, Joke!
In 2021 he published his first novel Stand Up, Barry Goldman -“funny and fascinating, a lovely tale” Jo Brand. Book Two – Barry Goldman: The Wilderness Years – is out now. The final book in the trilogy will be published November 2025.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to wait too long for Dave’s next book. How To Write A Funny Novel is out this September.

Latest blogs
Why Two Heads Are Better Than Five
In last month’s Q and A sessions I had two extreme versions of the same question. First, how do you deal with an unequivocally negative response to your script from a producer? Second, what the hell are you supposed to do when your script comes back with feedback from five
Dear Bill…
On a day when the news got a whole lot worse I was already reeling from hearing about the death of Bill Dare. I was about to write “radio producer” because that’s the way most people knew him – and indeed, a huge amount of my time spent with him

Attention Comedy Writers: The BBC Needs YOU
Attention comedy writers – the BBC Comedy Collective Bursary Award is open for submissions. But hurry! The deadline is a week on Friday, 31 January. There aren’t many competitions or schemes I unequivocally recommend comedy writers investigate – two to be precise. This is one of them. This will be

Lion, The Pitch and Wardrobe
Sixteen reasons why Horrible Histories was such a hit On Friday 29 November I’m off to BAFTA with a legion of writers, performers, costume designers and history experts to celebrate the Honorary Award for Horrible Histories. I wrote around 100 songs over ten years from 2009 and saw close-up how