Jon Richardson The Teenage Diaries of a Stand-up Comedian

Jon Richardson is to publish his first book in 15 years – a collection drawn from his teenage diaries covering the years 1996 to 1999.

The Teenage Diaries of a Stand-Up Comedian will be published by Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown, on Monday 26th October 2026. The diaries – written when Jon was growing up in Lancaster between the ages of 14 and 17 – cover unrequited love, the deaths of Princess Diana and his grandfather, a disappointing trip to Blackpool, triumphs on Championship Manager, and the moment he describes as ‘the day my life was changed forever’: seeing Titanic at the cinema.

Redacted in parts, Jon has admitted they contain ‘some very bleak stuff’. He previously shared extracts with Patreon supporters of his Down The Dog podcast, co-hosted with Matt Forde. On hearing the first entry, Forde told him: ‘Your sentence structure, your vocabulary hasn’t changed at all. It’s like finding you in a peat bog.’

Little, Brown describe the book as ‘an hilarious but meaningful reflection on growing up and growing old’ told with Jon’s ‘unique, self-deprecating humour’, covering everything from his first mortifying PE lesson encounter to the ‘crushing heartache and anxiety that comes with being a young, working-class boy with limited horizons.’

Jon’s previous book, It’s Not Me, It’s You!, was published in 2011. The Teenage Diaries of a Stand-Up Comedian is available to pre-order now in audiobook or hardcover.