Writing Funny

In our season finale, we go backstage at the 2026 Comedy Women in Print (CWIP) Awards with guest host, the fabulous Alison Bell. What happens when a room full of witty women writers gets together to celebrate? Featuring interviews with icons Alison Steadman, Vicki Michelle, Kathy Lette and so many more.Helen also chats to CWIP sponsor Wizz Selvey from Valerie, a wellness brand for perimenopausal women, about why supporting funny women matters.This episode celebrates what it means to be part of a community of witty writers.

This week, Helen and Chrissie chat all things industry, sharing their insights on how you go from unpublished to published. What steps do you need to take when approaching literary agents? How do you self-publish? And most importantly, keep writing.

Are you a writer who plans everything before you start, or do you discover the story as you go?This week, Helen and Chrissie look at the art of process, looking at the many ways writers work and why there’s no one perfect approach. What’s your process? Do you need a detailed structure and clear roadmap, or do you prefer to follow your instincts?

Where do ideas come from? And once you’ve got one, how do you know whether it’s the one worth following?Helen and Chrissie talk about finding inspiration, turning the things around you into ideas, and the surprisingly difficult process of choosing which one to pursue. How do you narrow them down, and what makes an idea stick?

This week, Helen and Chrissie explore how they find the funny and the power of humour when the world can sometimes feel so dark.How do you write comedy when everything around you feels heavy? They get into the reality of writing comedy in difficult times, where the ideas come from, what makes them laugh, and how the world around them finds its way into their work. When things feel heavy, how do you find the funny?

How do you find your community? In this episode, Helen and Chrissie talk about how they found their people in the early days of their writing careers, the places and connections that helped them feel less alone, the power of a mentor, and why having support around you is so important when you're finding your feet as a writer.Writing might be a solo job, but you don’t have to do it alone.

Helen and Chrissie explore the winding, wonderful and often unexpected path to becoming a writer. What makes someone start writing? Where do the ideas come from? And how does a book make its way from a scribbled thought to a finished novel?They both share stories from their own early writing days, alongside authors shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print prize, who reveal what inspired them to write and how they got started.From the highs and lows to the dreams and determination, this episode celebrates what it really means to become a writer.