Masterclass Sunday: Writing Funny Fiction

Name: Masterclass Sunday: Writing Funny Fiction
Start: 2026-03-29T09:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-03-29T11:00:00+01:00
Location: The Bookseller Crow

Details

Learn how to write fiction that makes people laugh in this workshop with Kate Davies, whose first novel, In at the Deep End, was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction.

We'll look at:

The purpose of humour in fiction
The technical aspects of writing jokes
Examine extracts from comic novels to analyse how different writers use comedy in their work
And have a go at developing comic prose, so bring your notebook and pen

In honour of Jonathan Main, our bookseller at Bookseller Crow who sadly died last September, we are offering one free scholarship place for someone who would be unable to attend due to financial constraints.

This is aimed at the unemployed, the unwaged carers or those on a low income. To apply for this scholarship please do not book below and instead send your details, including a short description of your circumstances, including where you live, with FUNNY FICTION WRITING SCHOLARSHIP in the email title to: southlondonwriting@gmail.com

The deadline for scholarship applications is 6pm, Monday 2nd March 2025. Applications sent after this deadline cannot be considered.

Location

The Bookseller Crow
50 Westow Street, London, SE19 3AF

The Lineup

Kate Davies is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter and author of children’s books. Her first novel, In at the Deep End, won the Polari Prize and was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction. Her second novel, Nuclear Family, was named a Times book of the year.

She is known for her funny, frank fiction, propulsive plots and witty dialogue, and her writing has won praise from authors including Sarah Waters (“Davies writes with an enviable lightness of touch and impeccable comic timing”, Emma Jane Unsworth (“Brazen and hilarious”) and Erin Kelly (“I can’t think of another author who can make me ricochet so fast from painful empathy to helpless laughter.”) She lives in London with her wife and son.