Performing Arts

Superstar comedian and Hollywood box-office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word by writing some words. Some of those words include: the, a, for, above, and even even. Put them together and you have the funniest, most heartfelt, and most inspirational memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself since Old Yeller.

A cutting satire of race relations in the age of Trump and Black Lives Matter from the hugely popular comedian—one of ""The Original Kings of Comedy""—and author of the New York Times bestseller Black Man, White House. ""White people are always giving out ‘helpful’ advice, such as...

Richard Pryor journeys from his childhood in a family that worked in whore-houses and bars, through to his years in Hollywood - the money, the women, the drugs - and the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

The greats of comedy, when they were young and struggling, performing their great early routines.

The film, television, and comedy legend tells the hilarious and moving story of how tough love, and a sense of humor made him the man he is today By the tender age of five, Bernie Mac had found his calling: making others laugh. He has since become the star and cocreator of Fox’s hit sitcom The...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today From the creator of Elle’s “Eric Reads the News,” a heartfelt and hilarious memoir-in-essays about growing up seeing the world differently, finding unexpected hope, and experiencing every awkward...

Comedian Trevor Noah offers listeners a glimpse into his childhood during apartheid in South Africa in this award-winning memoir.

Scottie Price just started a new job and it's a real sausage fest. She's the only woman on a team filled with Brads and Chads. Expecting a bachelor pad atmosphere, she is quickly corrected when she finds out everyone is happily married.

From the bestselling author of Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy, the definitive biography of John Candy—a heartwarming portrait of one of comedy's most beloved and enduring stars. From his humble beginnings in sketch comedy with the Toronto branch of Second City, to his rise to fame in SCTV and...

Steve Martin's riveting, mega-bestselling, beloved, and highly acclaimed memoir of a life, a vocation, and an era—named one of the ten best nonfiction titles of the year by Time and Entertainment Weekly. In the mid-seventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the...

Outsider. Misfit. Criminal. Convict. . . . Movie star. Family man. Comedy legend. Joey Diaz has been called every name in the book (and then some). Now, for the first time, he shares the story of his unlikely rise to fame in his own words—with no punches pulled....

The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual is a comprehensive guide to the UCB style of long form comedy improvisation....

James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales raucously and revealingly take the SNL story up to the present, adding a constellation of iconic new stars, surprises, and controversies....

The exercises in this book will get you off the couch and onto the stage, helping you develop the skills necessary to envision, and achieve, a successful career in comedy....

David Mitchell’s 2014 best seller Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse must really have made people think - because everything’s got worse....

This program includes a prologue and epilogue read by the author. From New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff, comes the definitive audiobook biography of Robin Williams – a compelling portrait of one of America’s most beloved and misunderstood entertainers. From his rapid-fire...

Six-time Emmy Award-winning funnyman Tim Conway, best known for his characters on The Carol Burnett Show, offers a straight-shooting and hilarious memoir about his life on stage and off as an actor and comedian....

This sharply written guide - for both beginners breaking into comedy and professionals seeking to improve their sets and advance their careers - examines the work of great comedians as a as a means of illustrating the most important techniques of performing and writing stand-up....

From breakout stand-up comedian Iliza Shlesinger comes a subversively funny collection of essays and observations on a confident woman's approach to friendship, singlehood, and relationships....

When his son gets a school assignment on heroes, John seizes the chance to teach him all about the great figures of the Latino world. But once he sets out on his irreverent crash course across three continents and 3,000 years of history....

Join professional comedy writer Joel Morris on a hilarious journey into the hidden world of shared laughter, where he reveals the mechanisms that make jokes work and what comedy can teach us about ourselves....

“Writing this funny requires immense talent.” —AV Club H. Jon Benjamin—the lead voice behind Archer and Bob's Burgers—helps us all feel a little better about our own failures by sharing his own in a hilarious memoir-ish chronicle of failure. Most people would consider H. Jon Benjamin a...

In this definitive joke-writing handbook, learn comedy writing and how to write a joke with a simple comedy-writing and joke-writing formula you can use right now to write your own jokes....

The first book in twenty-five years from “one of our great comic minds” (The Washington Post) features Seinfeld’s best work across five decades in comedy. Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a twenty-one-year-old college student in...

From Naptown to Tinseltown—legendary stand-up comedian and actor Mike Epps finally tells all in this outrageous, hilarious, no-holds-barred memoir. Before starring in Def Comedy Jam and Showtime at the Apollo—before the sold-out comedy shows, Uncle Buck, and becoming his hero Richard Pryor...

The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story filled with intimate bombshells—told by the bombshell herself. On Good Friday in 1953, at only 18 months old, 25 miles from the nearest hospital in Manhattan, Kansas...

Decades ago, Paul Mooney set out not just make audiences laugh but to make them think. Black Is the New White is his blisteringly funny, no-holds-barred memoir of how he continues to succeed wildly at both....

If it can happen in show business, it’s happened to Jon Cryer. Now he’s opening up for the first time and sharing his behind-the-scenes stories in a warmly endearing, sharply observed, and frankly funny look at life in Hollywood. In 1986, Jon Cryer won over America as Molly Ringwald’s...

FINALIST FOR THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY FINALIST FOR THE MARFIELD PRIZE FEATURED ON CBS SUNDAY MORNING From longtime New York Times and Vanity Fair writer David Margolick comes the first definitive biography of Sid Caesar: founding father of television comedy...

The doctor is back with a whole book of sessions from guests like Jon Hamm, Louie Anderson, Susie Essman, Gilbert Gottfried, David Mamet, Wanda Sykes, Marc Maron, Reggie Watts and a slew of others.

Authors Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key build on the popularity of their 2022 Webby Award-winning podcast and delve deeper into the world of sketch, helped along with new essays created expressly for the book by comedy greats.

One hundred and twenty-nine years ago, a new hot springs was discovered in Luview, Maine. When two lonely hearts went for a swim in the waters, they fell instantly in love. Awwwww, right? But this isn’t a story about magic. It’s a story about business. The business of love. Because local logger Abram Luview, who found his bride that day, didn’t just see stars in his beloved’s eyes. He saw dollar signs, too. Over the years, Abram helped to turn Luview, Maine into Love You, Maine: where every day is Valentine’s Day.

Party of One is more than just another reflective rambling from another comedian. It's a brutal, coming-of-rage memoir that takes you through Landau's youth around the Motor City. His difficult family dynamic; his struggles with addiction; his desire to be accepted, forgiven, and not forgotten.

Harmony in Humour is a funny, honest, and deeply human reflection on adulthood, faith, culture, parenting, and the quiet mental battles we all face. With sharp wit and heartfelt insight, Conrad Santa Jr. turns everyday chaos into stories that heal, challenge, and remind us we're not broken, we're human. This isn't a traditional self-help book filled with clichés or formulas. It's a conversation, raw, real, and unexpectedly freeing.

He kept the ship shipshape. They kept their eyes on the screen. For sixteen years, Max has been the Janitor of the Vigilant, a high-class starship where status is measured in digital footprints. Max doesn’t tweet, he doesn’t click, and he definitely doesn't "surf"—he simply knows every bolt and bulkhead of the ship he calls home. When a new, tech-obsessed Captain decides Max’s digital illiteracy is a fatal flaw, Max is cast out into the space docks with nothing but his severance and his dignity. But in a universe where everyone is too busy "clicking and surfing" to look out the ...

Storytelling has long been a staple of the outdoor literature, though in recent years these stories seem fewer and harder to find. Some of these accounts were tales of peril, while others were relatable bits of comedy about the missteps we all make in the outdoors. In the spirit of keeping that tradition alive, Jim Mize has followed up with his own tales of misadventure and mirth, bringing us characters like Beanpole and Grumpy. If these tales have a touch of credibility, it’s because many of these events happened to Jim or people he knew. But he prefers to share them through his ...

I get snowed in with my brother’s best friend, a hockey star I’m supposed to fix, not fall for. After a viral on-ice fight, Andy Coleman needs damage control. Fast. He’s the Milwaukee Blizzard’s hot-headed star, all scoring goals and shutting people out. So the team sends me. His publicist. His captain’s little sister. The last woman he wants telling him how to live his life. Then an injury sidelines him. Suddenly I’m managing more than his image. Between rehab sessions and charity skates, I see the man behind the headlines, the one who laughs with kids, rescues me in a blizzard...

Ever wish socializing came with subtitles and an undo button? This social skills book is the next best thing. If you’ve ever tried to charm someone with a joke that fell flat, stared at a one-word reply like it was a riddle, or blanked mid-intro—you’re not alone. This is a social anxiety book that gets it. The Awkward Person’s Guide to Social Skills is a refreshingly honest, funny, and helpful guide for anyone who feels like they missed the memo on human interaction.

Kristin Williams has been a nudist for thirteen years and she is done being subtle about it. In this follow-up to her previous books on nudism, the Seattle-based nudist, Volvo driver, and Persian cat mother delivers her most personal and wide-ranging book yet, a full-throated, laugh-out-loud, occasionally profound case for saying yes to the naked life in every direction it goes. Yes to your body exactly as it is. Yes to the people who see you completely and gloriously nude and stay anyway. Yes to Croatian beaches and Washington rivers and Tuesday mornings in your kitchen when nothing is ...

You learn a lot about people when they’re hungry. Especially the ones who think you don’t count. Welcome to Lark & Ladle, where the checks are real, the lies are casual, and the side eyes could cut glass. Behind every “just one quick question” is a power play. Behind every “we’re in a hurry” is a person who expects the world to bend. And behind every smile a waitress wears is a private ledger of what people do when they think the apron makes you invisible. In Checks, Lies & Side Eyes, a sharp, funny, and quietly fearless waitress takes you table by table through ten darkly ...

From Monty Python, The Goodies and Not the Nine O’Clock News to Peep Show, QI and The Great British Bake-Off, its alumni are behind many of the shows that have entertained since the 1960s to today. This book tells the story of the Footlights, chronicling its evolution from its creation in the 1880s to the present.