Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense

by Elliott Kalan

The winner of four Emmys, a Peabody, and two Writers Guild Awards (all of which badly need dusting) explains his process for writing comedy without going insane.
 
Philosophers may debate the meaning of comedy (thankfully keeping them too busy to fall into a life of crime), but the rest of us are more likely to wonder how we can make an audience laugh—or at least, how to entertain our friends and followers. According to award-winning comedy writer Elliott Kalan, we need to stop staring out the window, waiting for hilarious bits to stroll into view, fully formed. What we need is a process to plant their premises, tend to their structure and wording, and ultimately harvest them as funny material. In short, a farm. But for jokes.
 
In Joke Farming, Kalan explains that it’s easier to write jokes when you have a dependable method for doing so. All jokes, he argues, are built from the same structure, premise, voice, tone, wording, and audience—and these elements can be applied to any comedic genre, from stand-up to sitcoms to satire. Kalan analyzes examples from his own career—including jokes that he wrote (and rewrote and rewrote and rewrote . . . ) as head writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart—as well as material from a diverse array of comedians, writers, and filmmakers, highlighting the phrasing, rhythm, and precise details that make their work so dang funny.
 
Drawing on his experiences in professional writers’ rooms as well as episodes from everyday life, Kalan’s guide to jokes will appeal to aspiring writers, their mentors, comedy fans, and anyone who has to speak at a wedding. Joke Farming points the way toward a writing process that lessens stress and agony and yields more reliable a surprising tagline, a hilarious word choice, and—most importantly—a bigger laugh from the audience, whoever they may be.

Genres: Nonfiction, Comedy, Humor, Writing

322 pages, Paperback

First published November 12, 2025

Reviews

[Jeff Wait]

This book stresses the importance of brevity, clarity and specificity. Fittingly, this book is a brief, clear and specific look at joke writing. The author communicates these ideas simply and effectively and creates a helpful resource for joke writers of all experience levels. It's also just a fun read. Definitely a book I'll revisit.

[He N]

Really funny. Quite theoretical: doesn’t try to explain jokes, which we all know ruins them; but instead analyzes them and then provides methods for coming up with your own. Lots of detail!

Particularly enjoyed all the jokes you get to read along the way (isn’t that what it’s all about?) and the chapter on comedy podcasting which gets at the heart of that format, and why it works, better than anything else I’ve read.

Would love to work with Elliott Kalan one day; I wonder if I will. He co-hosts two of my favorite pods: The Flop House (funny) and The Power Broker Podcast (less funny but still funny).

[Jamie Wenger]

Feeling a lot of pressure to say something funny here, but this is a tremendously insightful and approachable crash course in the mechanics of comedy almost guaranteed to make you snort laugh on any public bench, bus, or ferry that you may find yourself on while reading.

[Ren]

In addition to Kalan's clear delineation of the types and elements of humor, what elevated this for me was an honest glimpse into his creative process.

[Kyle C]

This is not a book full of comedic bangers. There are more definitions of jokes than examples of jokes. This is a technical, even scholarly, manual on the craft and process of creating jokes (appropriately, it is published by UChicago Press—and UChicago is where fun goes to die). There is a lot of sound advice germane not just to writing jokes but to writing generally: identify what is absurd, strange, frustrating in the world; clearly articulate a point; find a humorous premise; give a clear structure (a setup and a punchline); and most importantly, "think oppositely," seeing the premise from different perspectives. These are the foundational steps to developing the core of a joke. Then there is the finer work of whittling and tinkering: exaggerating and heightening the joke, or using incongruity, or adding specificity (a good example Kalan gives: instead of saying "Have you ever eaten so much your tummy hurt," say, "Have you ever sadness-chugged so much Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie that you felt pregnant?")

My favorite parts of the book were when Kalan shared moments from his own writing career, especially as head writer for the Daily Show with John Steward. John Kerry going to France on a "charm offensive" was somehow funny, John Kerry, a boring failed presidential candidate, being a Francophile was somehow funny. But finding the premise for the joke was challenge. Kalan walks his audience through his various drafts before finding a good call-and-response set-up: what is his favorite kind of fries? French fries. Favorite kind of press? French press. That's a good start but Kalan then wanted to find a good punchline. He then approached it from a different angle—wasn't John Kerry married to the heir of the Heinz company. From there the punchline became obvious: "Favorite fries? French! Favorite horn? French! Favorite Mustard? Heinz! He's not going to jeopardize his marriage." It's not, to me, a particularly funny joke but it is an illuminating example of the writing process: finding a premise, building a structure, with an ironic reversal at the end.

Jokes aren't funny when the comedian has to explain them; they are even less funny when the comedian diagrams the whole writing process. No one reading this will become a comedian (it's one thing to praise "detached observation"; it's another thing to cultivate it) but perhaps readers will appreciate the mundane workmanship of writing a joke.

[Peter Derk]

This is a scholarly book, one I bought from University of Chicago Press!

Or, which I TRIED TO buy from University of Chicago Press!

Which, guys, let's chat a moment.

I fully planned to buy this straight from the source instead of evil Amazon, but I was stonewalled when it turned out, in order to buy the book, I HAD TO make an account.

And we all know how this works. You make an account so they can send you stupid emails about their other stupid books.

I mean, The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy? No thanks.

The Work Ethic in Industrial America 1850-1920, Second Edition? Well, I'm of course familiar with the first edition, and I have to assume there have been some earth-shattering updates.

How about just don't? Just don't make me sign up for a thing when what I'm signing up for isn't really related to the transaction.

I mean, Amazon can eat shit, but that horse has left the barn and shit all over the side of the barn, spinning its tail to spread the shit like a fan, a move the horse learned from watching a hippo do it. See, the farmer won a hippo in a poker game, and he thought maybe the horse and hippo could be unusual animal friends, but it turns out hippos don't really seem to like living in Liberty, MO, and they just charge at things and fan their shit all over the place.

Why be like Amazon? Why not be the alternative, giving me a no-account way to buy a book, as if I'd just walked into a store and got one?

Anyway, the big thing I want to tell everyone about this book is to not expect that my joke writing has improved. That's not Elliott Kalan's fault, however, I just want to manage your expectations.

Hey, plenty of people have read The Joy of Sex, or at least flipped through it and giggled, and I don't know that we'd claim that publication of that book has resulted in more people having better sex.

[John Pinkard]

Joke Farming by Elliott Kalan is the perfect blend of humor, history, and information about how to create jokes, whether that be for stand-up comedy, sketch writing, books, and even podcasting. Want to include a joke in a wedding speech? This book can help you come up with a joke for any situation.

Honestly, I read this book at the perfect time in my life since I have recently been exploring my creative side, specifically when it comes to comedy. Over the past few months, I have taken improv and clown classes, and my first sketch comedy writing class was a couple of days ago. Will stand-up comedy be my next challenge? That’s a potential goal of mine for the beginning of 2026. The lessons I’ve learned from Joke Farming will continue to be helpful as I develop my own comedic voice.

Thank you to NetGalley, Elliott Kalan, and the publisher for the eARC of this book.

[Bryan]

It’s rare to become an expert at something. But to be able to do that, and then to understand it well enough to break it down to its fundamental components is even less common. And if you can somehow do that in a way that conveys what about it appeals to an audience who may or may not share that same devotion to the subject, you’re practically a unicorn.

Kalan is exactly that sort of mythical beast, a professionally extremely funny person who has clearly dedicated a lot of time to figuring out how jokes work and how to make them work better. This book is a masterclass in comedy writing across virtually every medium, and it’s consistently as entertaining as it is informative. Even if you have no intention of trying to be funny for a living, you’ll develop a whole new appreciation for the craft (and maybe a little bit of vicarious confidence in your own ability to put it into practice).

[Justin Martin]

I'll be honest: I went in with a pre-conceived notion that I'd dislike this book; many a water-thin cash-grab craft book crops up every year, and I feared this would be that, but for humor. Instead, I got a book I want permanently on my shelf: one that makes the argument that everything - from The Far Side to Duchamp's urinal to Catskills insult comedians of the forties and Dril tweets - operates on the same underlying physics of humor: making and breaking patterns, which are spawned by premise, indicated by structure, and filtered through tone and audience. None of the planets in the book's scope feel like a reach - and it's so rare that a craft book's advice feels actionable and granular like this. Adored this - could write another two paragraphs about the bits on closeness, distance, and identity.

[Pat]

Really enjoyed this short book by the former head writer of The Daily Show about how he approaches writing comedy, which had me laughing along as it provided a set of concepts for understanding what comedy “is” and how it works. Also, I love that this book was for some reason published by The University of Chicago press and was apparently peer reviewed (by whom?!), and that this is just something we’re supposed to accept as normal.

If you’re the kind of person who (a) likes comedy in its many forms, (b) likes to get inside how things work, and (c) doesn’t get weirdly indignant about reading “how to” books for things that we all know you still mainly have to learn by doing (comedy, swimming, playing an instrument, cooking an omelette), this one’s for you.

[Bryan Cook]

Oddly academic for a book about comedy writing. Kalan spends substantial energy defining terms, making the reading experience feel like moderately entertaining homework. The final third of the book is an exploration of various types of comedy and advice for how to write for it specifically. That sounds interesting in theory, but in practice it's mostly theory.

The book is peppered with asides and jokes, but my favorite part of the book was the dissection of real jokes as examples. The conventional wisdom is to never explain a joke, and Kalan claims not to do so, but he's at his best when he is doing precisely that in the service of expanding upon his framework.

Solid enough for those infatuated with comedy who don't mind a scholarly treatment. Not recommended for general audiences.

[Steve]

I hear about this book on a podcast and was intrigued by the premise. I’m not a comedy writer, but my job involves ideas and I wanted to see if his process could help me.

Part 1 about Eliott’s process is where that answer lives. From there the book had diminishing returns. I did appreciate part 2 about the elements of comedy and it helped me better understand how comedy works. Part 3 where he discussed the different uses and kinds of comedy was more skim territory for me, but perhaps be more useful if you are an aspiring comedy writer

.

[Katherine Hess]

Great Detailed Read!

I liked a lot about this book but writing a review of it is like writing to an English teacher - it makes me self conscious about being funny. So I am trying extra hard to not have any humor.
I was impressed by how thorough the book is - the references I knew were super strong in content and pedigree, the references that were new to me spurred me to some reference rabbit holes that did not disappoint.
I've never read such a careful analysis of comedy. Excellent.

[Steve]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Kalan discusses a wide range of humorous writing: stand-up, visual, slapstick, and others. The book is not a joke-book; it is a serious look at how to write humour, but with the judicious use of humour by Kalan and a very conversational tone. Kalan made good use of concrete examples, which greatly clarified the material. Thank you to Edelweiss and University of Chicago Press for the advance reader copy.

[Laura Rose]

Really good! The comedy nerd in me loved the jokes (both referenced as examples and native to the book) and the analysis of comedy. The instructions on how to develop as a joke writer were fascinating. I can be funny in conversation, in fiction, and on the internet, but I've never thought of myself as having a joke-writing brain. But reading this kind of made me want to try writing jokes more purposefully! (Don't worry, Mom, I'm not going to become a stand-up or join an improv group.)

[Valeria Avramenko]

Is this book funny? Not particularly. It is a book about fun though and I'd wish it stayed this way with consistency. The author sprinkles it with way too many attempts to joke between the lines as if he himself feel at least silly, or even a bit ashamed of writing this book. It disrupts the rhythm of reading and ends up being annoying. If you can look past that, it's a very cool book with a lot of interesting and useful information about jokes, comedy, their history and references.

[Jarod Anderson]

I'm not a comedy writer, but I am a writer who sometimes shoots for comedy and I found this to be a fun and helpful read. If you want to write comedy, this book is for you. If you're a fan of comedy interested in a thoughtful exploration of the mechanics of humor, this book is for you. If you're a creative who wants to free your process from the need to wait on inspiration, this book is for you. (And it's easily the funniest book I've ever read from a university press.)

[Beth Gerson]

I read this as a fan of Elliott's from his podcasting and Daily Show gigs and was not at all disappointed. While I do not personally have a career that involves joke writing, there were many different use-case scenarios, including wedding toasts and others, where this information could be applied.

The book also helps turn you into a more critical consumer of pop culture. Thinking about what you're watching or reading and being able to analyze it from a more informed lens is something that we can all use in our daily lives. This felt like non-fiction that I could easily work into my day-to-day life. I liked how it was organized in a way that made sense and never felt like it was jumping around or too niche. Strong recommend!

I received an ARC from NetGalley

[Jon Barr]

This book delivers perfectly on its premise: how to write jokes like it's your job. For the author, he understood that when writing jokes WAS his job, he couldn't rely on the fickleness of the muse but needed a system. He shares his system, the many ways to apply that system, and much more. And of course, he's also hilarious throughout.

[Luke Martin]

A lot of Kalan's tips for writing funny jokes apply pretty closely to news writing — be clear, don't waste time, and be responsible with what you're doing, just to start. So I got a lot more out of this book than I was expecting to, I guess.

Kalan also landed a few good jokes of his own in the book, and it was fun reading his descriptions of some of the classics.

[Samoon Xerxes]

the writing style is very good. the knowledge is good too. but he teaches his experience. this book will work well for people who have atleast a year or two in creating comedy. definately not a first pick. yet should be read by any mid to expert level comedians to put soul n zing in their products, as well as polishing them.

[Ian]

Informative, clever, and genuinely funny. I’ve never enjoyed learning a technique so much!
Elliot Kalan breaks down the art of joke farming in accessible terms. His method is easy to adopt, whether you’re refining your comedic craft or just trying to understand what makes a joke hit.

[Riki]

A fun introduction to the art of writing a joke. Lots of interesting tips from a professional comedic writer, including understanding your own persona, your audience, your tone, and the structure of your joke.

[BT]

The book's biggest weakness is the breadth of information it covers — if it had focused more on the farming and less on the types of farms out there (to wear out its metaphor), I think the book would be more valuable. That said, it is well-written, humorously composed, rarely not entertaining

[Ceef]

A genuinely thought-provoking and useful guide to writing comedy (and, by extension, doing any creative work).

Also: funny! I came, I saw, I lol'ed. (Actually. Several times.)

[Matt Irwin]

I like listening to and reading Elliott Kalan.

[Nate Rappaport]

Hilarious, one of the few books that I've read twice.

[Brennan Klein]

Very charming and informative!

[Rick Larsen]

Perceptive and hilarious, just like me!

[Lily Blumkin]

Spent so long reading this bc I needed every word seared into my brain. Yeah, this is gonna be a book I reference for the rest of my life 🙏🙏🙏