Bringing comedy to nonfiction with Dave Cohen

Publishing Rebel

If you ever worried, your nonfiction book will be too boring, this episode is for you!

My guest today has constantly been on the British comedy scene for nearly 40 years. He was also lead singer with the world’s first Jewish heavy metal band Guns’n’Moses. Yep, you guessed it - my guest today is 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 - the first book in the Barry Goldman trilogy. Book Two – Barry Goldman: The Wilderness Years – is out now and the final book in the trilogy will be published in November 2025.

His latest non-fiction book How To Write A Funny Novel will be out in September 2024.

In this episode

• How Dave got into comedy
• The power of expressing yourself through words
• The digital revolution
• Why you shouldn’t publish your first book
• The hidden story any nonfiction book should tell
• The key to any great writing (especially comedy and nonfiction)
• How to write to build trust in your authority
• Keys to bringing comedy to nonfiction
• Digging into embarrassment and mistakes
• The trial and error strategy to know what’s funny
• Why it's really hard to get comedy - and how to eventually get it right

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📚🚀🏆 Are you thinking about writing your first nonfiction book this year?

Join the waitlist to be notified when PUBLISHED AUTHORITY, our 12-month nonfiction author coaching programme reopens for enrolment: https://publishedauthority.com/

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Connect with Dave Cohen

Website: http://davecohen.org.uk
Email: [e-mail]
Books (Amazon): https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Dave-Cohen/author/B00GZOB02C

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Also mentioned: John Yorke’s book ‘Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Into-Woods-Stories-Work-Tell/dp/0141978104