‘That interaction is what makes a festival like this so vital for writers. I met some great people and was genuinely engaged by the whole
event. Can I come back please?’
DECLAN LOWNEY – Director (‘Father Ted’, ‘Little
Britain’)
'Writing is a solitary business and I think it’s essential that writers can find a forum where they
can discuss every aspect of their creative profession and get an understanding of how comedy writing works as an industry. For my own part of course it’s invaluable to connect with it at a grass
roots level to meet with and listen to writers at all levels in the profession.’
JOHN GRIFFIN – Producer (‘Shameless’,
‘Skins’)
‘‘The London Comedy Writers' Festival was, bar none, the best run, best organised and best
attended writers' fest I've ever seen. Enthusiasm, camaraderie and a sense that people were actually *getting somewhere because they were here* made all the difference."
KAREN KRIZANOVICH - Presenter, Writer and
Journalist
‘Without the 'writers room' apprenticeships of the American TV industry, it's vital that
upcoming British talent find other opportunities to hone their craft and grasp as much practical, real-world advice as possible. Events like this festival offer a major step on that
journey’
ANDREW ELLARD – Writer, Director
‘Events such as these are invaluable for freelancers. It gets everyone out of the writing
bubble and fosters a community of like minded creatives. Everyone should do this festival whether a newbie or professional. It's informative, inspirational and educational’
JONATHAN NEWMAN – Director, Writer (‘Swinging With
The Finkles’, ‘Foster’)
‘you will meet more people who will be useful to your career in two days than you can
actually talk to’
JULIAN FRIEDMANN - Agent
‘a great opportunity to chat to writers about the really dirty secret about sending a
script in - make it as funny as possible and don't faff about with periphera. I may not quite have phrased it like that on the day of course...’
DAVID TYLER – Producer | Pozzitive Television
‘The highlight, for me was Griff Rhys Jones’s address. When he compared comedy writing
with mining for gold; ie that miners have to wade through 200 tons of rubbish to find one nugget of the right stuff, I realised that I am not alone in finding writing incredibly hard. It really
is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. I am inspired to write on, and can’t wait for the Screenwriters Festival in October for more of the same.”
JANICE DAY - Writer
‘I Can't believe I didn't know this festival existed... what a great networking tool for
writers to meet producers and like-minded people’
NATALIE BAILEY – BBC Director, Producer
'I had a blast at the London Comedy Writer's Festival. Brilliantly run. Great events. It's
the best one I've been to'
Robert Popper - 'Peep Show', 'The IT Crowd',
'South Park'
‘I flew in
from Australia and stayed awake! Not every event would be that intriguing.’
Mark Juddery, writer, Canberra, Australia.
‘This festival is amazing! I’m
from Belgium, but I’ll come back as often as possible! The speakers were so kind, available and generous on advice!’
Julie Bertrand, script-writer, Brussels, Belgium.
This festival was a real eye-opening experience. Hearing first hand success
stories from top notch names was awe-inspiring.’
Josh Vince, writer/director/student, Bournermouth Uni.
‘An amazing opportunity to see, smell and
touch success, and even ask questions of the lucky bastards who have it.’
Rick Limentani, writer, UK.
‘I came to the Festival for inspiration
and contacts, and got tons of both!’
Sean Kelly, writer, Sunderland.
‘Three words: Don’t.
Miss. It.’
Alli Parker, writer, London.
‘Advice,
technique and contents from speakers at the heart of the industry.’
Katia Hadidian, writer, London.
‘Fantastic inspiring key industry players giving the inside track into the
TV industry.’
Joanna Davies, writer, London.
‘If you are seriously thinking about getting into comedy writing, The
London Comedy Writers’ Festival is not to be missed.’
Liz Hobbs, writer & performer, London
‘The Comedy Writers Festival
educated me through seminars, inspired me through the script chats and put me in contact with future collaborators.’
Reuben Christian, presenter / writer / performer, Stratford, East London.
‘This is the best place to be for people who are unsure how good they
really are at comedy writing. The London Comedy Writers Festival can help you make a decision and grow.’
Roger Ajogbe, writer / journalist, London.
‘Rich, varied and current
selection of speakers and panel experts, great venue and professionally and smoothly run. Fantastic value for money.’
Simon Preston, writer, Preston
'I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for
organising the comedy writers festival last weekend. What a great chance to meet people and learn so much. Please run it again next year. It would be great to return having achieved so much in
the meantime.'
Sam Gould, Writer
Brilliantly organised and managed and for me at the perfect venue. Advice like that
is GOLDEN for scribes like me.
Ed Griffiths, Writer
'The festival was all about connecting with other writers and thanks to its friendly open atmosphere it was easy as. It was also helped by one of the most useful name
tags/lanyards that I’ve seen at any festival thus far that made it easy to identify who you were talking to without looking like you were squinting at their middle shirt button or worse.
Griff Rhys Jones’ keynote speech delivered in spades with wry and inspiring tales of his time in the comedy biz and the other speakers that I saw were all engaging and generous with their
time. The only criticism I would have is that sometimes the session moderators didn’t stick a hundred percent to brief and let sessions drift into cozy fire side chats, which while
entertaining weren’t what I was expecting. I have to say though, the festival organisers did their best to cram as much information, value and networking into the two day event. I’m
incredibly happy that I went and felt like I made the most of the experience and I would happily recommend the festival to anyone thinking of going next year.'
Brett Snelgrove, Writer
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